John “Tillie King” Gomes
Just before Thanksgiving in 1984, a popular Providence nightclub owner, 58-year-old John “Tillie King” Gomes, went missing. He would never be seen alive again.
A witness came forward saying she saw him being forced into a car at gunpoint by two men, and rumors of mob involvement quickly swirled.
Tillie was a community icon and a smart businessman who had built a successful nightclub and knew how to navigate the streets around him. But somebody wanted him dead. The question was why.
Sifting through rumors to find the truth, in a world where loyalties run deep and people are afraid to talk, left more questions than answers.
What happened during those final months of Tillie King’s life? And why, after more than four decades, has no one been held accountable for his murder?
If you have any information that can bring John "Tillie King" Gomes justice, please contact the Bristol County Massachusetts Cold Case Unit at (508) 961-1914. You can also reach out to the Providence Police Dept at (401) 272-3121.
Continue Tillie King’s story: Listen to the podcast episode. This text has been adapted from the Murder, She Told podcast episode, The Unsolved Murder of John "Tillie King" Gomes. To hear Tillie’s full story, find Murder, She Told on your favorite podcast platform or listen on the player at the top of the page.
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Matilda “Tillie” (Pina) (Gomes) King, Tillie’s mother, and Joseph King, Tillie’s stepfather (ancestry.com)
Longshoreman Local Num. 1329 clambake, 1956, John ‘Tillie King’ Gomes identified above, Norato Fontes also identified
Angelina Gomes, John ‘Tillie King’ Gomes’ wife
Anthony “Tony King” Gomes, brother of John “Tillie King” Gomes
John 'Tillie King' Gomes (ancestry.com)
John 'Tillie King' Gomes (facebook.com)
John 'Tillie King' Gomes (flickr.com)
Ad for “Tillie King's By the Sea,” Sept 1968, Narragansett, RI (Fall River Herald)
John 'Tillie King' Gomes (flickr.com)
John 'Tillie King' Gomes (flickr.com)
John 'Tillie King' Gomes (flickr.com)
Tillie King's Bar and Nightclub (Cape Verdean, Providence Public Library)
Fox Point, 1988, Tillie's is the red dot (Rhode Island historical aerial photography)
John 'Tillie King' Gomes (Cape Verdean, Providence Public Library)
John 'Tillie King' Gomes (facebook.com, Noah Shorts)
Gravestone - Gomes/King family (findagrave.com)
Gravestone - Gomes/King family (findagrave.com)
Kevin Hanrahan, a suspect in the murder of John ‘Tillie King’ Gomes (findagrave.com)
Sources For This Episode
Newspaper articles
Various articles from Cape Verdean, Fall River Herald, North-Adams Transcript, Providence Bulletin, Providence Journal, Providence Sunday Business Journal, Standard-Times, and The Evening Bulletin, here.
Written by various authors including Alan Levin, Doane Hulick, John Moss, Fred Rhines, Joseph Goodrich, Karen Lee Ziner, Lee Dykas, Margaret Charig, Paul Duggan, and Thomas Morgan.
Online written sources
'Angelina Gomes' (Legacy), 3/4/2009
'Kevin Thomas Hanrahan' (FindaGrave), 12/17/2014, by u/Mom
'Matilda Gomes King' (FindaGrave), 1/26/2015, by u/J. B. Chrismond
'Joseph King' (FindaGrave), 1/26/2015, by u/J. B. Chrismond
'Anthony King Gomes' (Tribute Archive), 12/9/2018
'Anthony K. Gomes' (Legacy.com), 12/11/2018
'Anthony K Gomes' (FindaGrave), 1/4/2021, by u/Memories Of The Past
'John Gomes' (South Coast Murder Mysteries), 4/1/2021
'Somebody can resolve this…' (WPRI), 5/21/2021, by Sarah Doiron & Kim Kalunian
'Unsolved Patriarca Crime Family Hit in Providence…' (The Gangster Report), 10/6/2021, by Scott Burnstein
'Kevin Hanrahan' (Wikipedia), 11/17/2023
'Barbara R King Perry' (FindaGrave), 1/4/2024, by u/DFR Diocesan Cemeteries
Online video sources
'"Somebody can resolve this," Detectives still searching for suspects…' (WPRI), 5/21/2021
Interviews
Many thanks to Jonathan, Yvonne, Katie, and “Jodie” for speaking to us.
Photos
As credited above.
Credits
Research, vocal performance, and audio editing by Kristen Seavey
Research, photo editing, and writing by Byron Willis
Written by Morgan Hamilton.
Additional research by Chelsea Hanrahan and Kimberly Thompson.
Murder, She Told is created by Kristen Seavey.