Leads on the culprit who slayed two teens at Club Blu have gone cold

Published: Updated:

The building has been painted and the bullet holes are long gone. A now-empty square is the only reminder that something else used to be there.

“I think a piece of our hearts were all taken away that day,” said Trish Routte, the coordinator for SWFL Crime Stoppers.

It has been three years since two teenagers, Stefan Strawder, 18, and Sean Archilles, 14, were shot and killed. Eighteen other people were hurt at what once was Club Blu in Fort Myers.

Stefan Strawder, 18, and Sean Archilles, 14, who died at Club Blu in 2016. Photo via WINK News.
Stefan Strawder, 18, and Sean Archilles, 14, who died at Club Blu in 2016. (Credit: WINK News)

“That night changed everything for so many people,” Routte said.

In the last three years, police have yet to arrest anyone, making it one of the most prominent cases in Fort Myers.

“That was the worst day of my life,” said Desean Archilles, whose younger brother was killed. “To this day, I’m still grieving. But it fuels the fire in me.”

“These were young people who had their entire lives ahead of them,” Routte said. “Stefan had a great basketball career ahead of him. And that was cut short because somebody did an awful, awful thing in a very public place.”

However, three years later, as the families of the two victims who died are waiting for answers, information on who did the crime has nearly gone cold.

There is still a cash reward for anyone with information on the case. Crime Stoppers told WINK News, since the shooting it has had around 100 tips. In the last year, there were only two new tips.

“If there’s just one or two people out there that can just find it in their conscience to come forward,” Routte said, “that’s going to help the healing process with a lot of people.”

Copyright ©2024 Fort Myers Broadcasting. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent.