A quiet Mattapan neighborhood became the center of a homicide investigation after an 18-year-old woman was found dead inside a rental property owned by the husband of a sitting U.S. congresswoman.
Boston Police have confirmed that Yoseliani Ann Marte Ocasio died from a single gunshot wound to the head. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner formally ruled her death a homicide on Thursday, July 30, 2026, nearly two weeks after her body was discovered.
Officers first responded on July 18 after an individual walked into the District E-18 police station to report that someone had been shot. When officers arrived, they conducted a protective sweep of the property and found Ocasio’s body near a rear bedroom in the second apartment of the home. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
An autopsy performed the following day identified the cause of death as a gunshot wound, but the manner of death was left pending further forensic testing. That testing has now concluded, and the ruling is official: homicide.
As originally reported, property records identify Conan Harris, husband of U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), as the owner of the two-story, seven-bedroom house. Built in 1910, the property is assessed at approximately $919,000 and had been listed for sale at $1.15 million at the time of the incident.
Boston police were direct in distancing the owners from any suspicion. Officials stated there is “absolutely nothing that indicates any connection to the owners of the property.”
A spokesperson for Rep. Pressley’s office confirmed that neither the congresswoman nor her family had any involvement in the incident. “The Congresswoman extends her deepest condolences to the impacted family,” the spokesperson said. Pressley later described herself as devastated by the loss and noted that the young woman’s life had been cut tragically short.
The victim’s mother, Elenie Ocasio, identified her daughter in the days after the discovery and told local media she believes the death resulted from domestic violence. She also said she believes she knows who may be responsible.
In a GoFundMe campaign set up to cover burial costs, Elenie Ocasio described her daughter as “deeply loved by her family, friends, and everyone whose life she touched.” She wrote of losing “someone so young, with so many dreams, hopes, and milestones still ahead of her.” In a raw and direct statement, she added, “This coward killed my baby. He put a gun to her head, took my baby in that house and left her to die.”
As of the homicide ruling, no arrests have been made and no charges have been filed. The Boston Police Department’s Homicide Unit continues to investigate.