A late-night fire in a Rhode Island cemetery led to the discovery of the body of Shad Gandy Kaydea, a young father and aspiring rapper who was strangled, then set on fire. As detectives peeled back the layers of Shad’s life, they uncovered volatile family tensions, a suspicious life insurance policy, and a man whose story kept changing. More than a decade later, his killer still walks free… but someone out there knows the truth.
Courtesy of Pawtucket Police Cold Case Unit and the Rhode Island Department of Corrections
Episode Info
If you have any information about the murder of Shad Gandy Kaydea, contact Cranston Police at 401-942-2211 or submit an anonymous tip by texting the keyword CRANSTONPD and your tip to 847411.
You can also contact Rhode Island’s tipline at 877-RI-SOLVE (74-76583), or email Info@ColdCaseRI.com with tips or questions.
Shad; Courtesy of Dee Conway, enhanced by Audiochuck staff
Shad; Courtesy of Dee Conway
Shad; Courtesy of Dee Conway, enhanced by Audiochuck staff
Shad; Courtesy of Dee Conway, enhanced by Audiochuck staff
Shad and Milan; Courtesy of Dee Conway, enhanced by Audiochuck staff
Shad and his sister, Julie; Courtesy of Dee Conway
Shad and his mom, Julia Jacobs Klah; Courtesy of Dee Conway
The cover of Shad’s funeral program; Courtesy of Cranston Police Department
The Cranston Police Department; Photo taken by Audiochuck staff
The Cranston Fire Department; Photo taken by Audiochuck staff
An aerial view of Pocasset Cemetery taken in 2012; Courtesy of Google Earth
Pocasset Cemetery on March 20, 2013; Courtesy of Cranston Police Department
Pocasset Cemetery on March 20, 2013; Courtesy of Cranston Police Department
Pocasset Cemetery on March 20, 2013; Courtesy of Cranston Police Department
A surveillance warning sign in Pocasset Cemetery on March 20, 2013; Courtesy of Cranston Police Department
Pocasset Cemetery on March 20, 2013; Courtesy of Cranston Police Department
Shad’s burned shoe; Courtesy of Cranston Police Department
Shad’s fingerprints, taken during his autopsy; Courtesy of Cranston Police Department
La Gran Parada Restaurant; Photo taken by Audiochuck staff
The Nonviolence Institute in Providence, where Shad was last seen alive just before 12:30 p.m. on March 20, 2013; Photo taken by Audiochuck staff
The Community Libraries of Providence: South Providence Library, where Ruben says he dropped Shad off on March 20, 2013; Photo taken by Audiochuck staff
A text Ruben sent a friend at 10:32 p.m. on March 20, 2013. The friend lived less than a mile from Pocasset Cemetery; Courtesy of Cranston Police Department
A white rented Toyota Corolla in Ruben’s driveway in East Providence on March 24, 2013; Courtesy of Cranston Police Department
The white 2012 Toyota Corolla rented by Ruben, photographed while being processed by police on March 24, 2013; Courtesy of Cranston Police Department
The trunk of the white 2012 Toyota Corolla rented by Ruben, photographed while being processed by police on March 24, 2013; Courtesy of Cranston Police Department
The interior of the white 2012 Toyota Corolla rented by Ruben, photographed while being processed by police on March 24, 2013; Courtesy of Cranston Police Department
The rental slip for the 2012 Toyota Corolla, showing Ruben rented it on the morning of March 20, 2013; Courtesy of Cranston Police Department
Ruben talking to Cranston Detective John Cardone on March 24, 2013; Courtesy of Cranston Police Department (Screenshot of video by Audiochuck Staff)
Massiel talking to Cranston Detectives John Cardone and Bob Lindsay on March 29, 2013; Courtesy of Cranston Police Department (Screenshot of video by Audiochuck Staff)
Massiel’s then-home in Providence, RI, seen here in 2014; Courtesy: Google Street View
Ruben Ortiz in 2017; Courtesy of Woonsocket Police via the Providence Journal
Ruben Ortiz in 2024; Courtesy of Palm Beach County (FL) Sheriff's Office
Cranston Detective Bob Lindsay in September 2025; Photo taken by Audiochuck staff
Cranston Detective John Cardone in September 2025; Photo taken by Audiochuck staff
The entrance to Pocasset Cemetery in September 2025; Photo taken by Audiochuck staff
The bridge leading to Pocasset Cemetery in September 2025; Photo taken by Audiochuck staff
A tribute to Shad, written on a wooden guardrail leading to Pocasset Cemetery; Photo taken by Audiochuck staff
The wooded area where Shad’s body was found, seen here in September 2025; Photo taken by Audiochuck staff
Shad’s grave in Swan Point Cemetery in Providence, RI; Photo taken by Audiochuck staff
Episode Source Material
Original reporting by Nina Schutzman
- Cranston Police Department records
- Palm Beach, Florida Court records
- Rhode Island court records
- The Providence Journal (12-29-2009, by Amanda Milkovits) Accessed via GenealogyBank.com
- Providence gang violence takes toll in young lives lost
- The Providence Journal: Providence man charged with impersonating a Drug Enforcement agent by Amanda Milkovits