Archive for 2008
Crime: Hovey Street Murders
Posted in Crime, Murdered, Project New Era, Ridiculousness on March 31, 2008 by projectnewera
*Editor’s Note: Once again, this is a story I knew absolutely NOTHING about. Sometimes I feel “guilty” when seeing things like this…the guilt I feel is because I feel like I SHOULD know about these things. I feel guilty because I wish that I could save people. How does your mind even work up enough thought to want to murder anyone cold blood..but ESPECIALLY children? A child can give me a ‘sad face’ on the right day and Im putty in their hands. I couldn’t imagine the look of distress on a child’s face right before you pull the trigger.
Original Article found at the Indy Channel
Police are looking for two unidentified men seen running from a home where two women and two children were fatally shot Monday night, and Sheriff Frank Anderson on Tuesday said Indianapolis police won’t rest until they arrest whoever killed the four.
“I can only say there’s a special place in hell for you, and we’re going to see that you get there,” Anderson said, referring to the gunman or gunmen.
Officers responding to a report of shots fired found three people dead and a 4-month-old girl wounded in a home in the 3200 block of Hovey Street at about 10:45 p.m. Monday, police said. The baby later died at Methodist Hospital.
Police identified the victims as Gina Hunt, 24; her son Jordan Hunt, 23 months; Andrea Yarrell, 24; and Yarrell’s daughter Charlii Yarrell, 4 months. Police said all four died of multiple gunshot wounds and the children were being held in the arms of their mothers during the shooting, 6News’ Jack Rinehart reported.
(Cont.) To read the rest of the article, please click HERE
Torture: Lattie McGee & Cornelius Abraham
Posted in Murdered, Project New Era, Torture on March 31, 2008 by projectnewera
*Editor’s Note: This story actually took place back in 1987, thus making it a little over 20 years old. You may ask WHY would I post something that’s not necessarily relevant to the here and now. I think that it is. You see, there are a ton of women (and MEN) in this world who are not worthy of having children. I’m always shocked and extremely appalled at stories related to children where they were sexually and/or physically abused (and oftentimes murdered) at the hands of the MOTHER’S boyfriend! Ladies, are we that hard pressed to have a man that abuse is tolerated towards our own flesh and blood? Maybe I’m speaking out loud b/c I don’t (TECHNICALLY) have a child…maybe it’s not really my “place” to say anything at all. But ladies, please STOP taking things out on your children. While I do not know all the circumstances governing this case and the “whys,” what I do know is that they should’ve gutted her like a fish, disabling the ability to even THINK “pregnant” again. It reminds me of the case regarding Daniyah Jackson. She was left alone with the mother’s boyfriend, only to come home to a sexually abused and unconscious baby. Why is there a growing trend in babies dying or being sexually abused by a mother’s boyfriend? One can only wonder. Either way, it does NOT stop my disgust. Because I’m trying to run a tight ship here, I won’t curse. I’ll spit instead…Very nasty habit in itself but at the very least, it expresses my thoughts on the abuse of children. So unnecessary! But get this…the boyfriend abused Lattie b/c he said his voice was “effeminate.” Are you serious? Read on…
Unfortunately, I was not able to find photos of victims when they were younger. However, the picture shown below is of the surviving ‘child’ (now young adult), Cornelius Abraham.
Original Article found at About Crime
The story of Lattie McGee and Cornelius Abraham is one of almost unbelievable abuse and cruelty, and yet it is also one of courage and hope.
On August 14, 1987, in a hot South Side Chicago apartment, police and paramedics found the tortured body of four-year-old Lattie McGee. Over the summer, when many inner-city children were outside enjoying splashing in the flow of spraying water hydrants, little Lattie was being systematically tortured by his mother and her boyfriend.
The then 28-year-old Alicia Abraham and her 40-year old boyfriend, Johnny Campbell, spent the summer beating the small boy with their fists, burning him with cigarettes and an iron, dunking his small legs into boiling water, depriving him of food and water, sticking him repeatedly with sewing needles and then wrapping a clothing line around his tiny raw ankles and hanging him upside down in the closet for the night.
(Cont.) For the rest of the article, please click HERE
Unfortunately, I was not able to find photos of victims when they were younger. However, the picture shown below is of the surviving ‘child’ (now young adult), Cornelius Abraham.
Original Article found at About Crime
The story of Lattie McGee and Cornelius Abraham is one of almost unbelievable abuse and cruelty, and yet it is also one of courage and hope.On August 14, 1987, in a hot South Side Chicago apartment, police and paramedics found the tortured body of four-year-old Lattie McGee. Over the summer, when many inner-city children were outside enjoying splashing in the flow of spraying water hydrants, little Lattie was being systematically tortured by his mother and her boyfriend.
The then 28-year-old Alicia Abraham and her 40-year old boyfriend, Johnny Campbell, spent the summer beating the small boy with their fists, burning him with cigarettes and an iron, dunking his small legs into boiling water, depriving him of food and water, sticking him repeatedly with sewing needles and then wrapping a clothing line around his tiny raw ankles and hanging him upside down in the closet for the night.
(Cont.) For the rest of the article, please click HERE
Murdered: Clifton Hibbert Jr. & Kenneth Patterson
Posted in Crime, Murdered, Project New Era on March 31, 2008 by projectnewera
*Editor’s Note: Another senseless act of violence committed against black men for absolutely NO reason! This has got to stop! I am so tired of turning on the news and watching/hearing about brothas being locked up or killed. We have got to work better within our community to DO better!
Original Article found at LA Times
Click HERE for Video
Clifton Hibbert Jr. seemed to be a young man going places. The son of Jamaican immigrants, he did well at Santa Monica High School and won a scholarship to Cal State Northridge. At 22, he was only a few weeks away from graduation. He aspired to become a lawyer.
“He was a person with integrity,” said his mother, Donna Brown. “He was compassionate. He loved his family. He was focused on his future.”
But Friday, shortly before 2 a.m., Hibbert and a friend, Kenneth Patterson, 23, were found gunned down. Police said they and two other youths had driven to an apartment complex in the 4200 block of Figueroa Street in South Los Angeles, a neighborhood of frequent drug deals and gang- related crime.
Two of the youths dropped off Hibbert and Patterson and drove around the corner to find parking, and then heard gunshots, they told police.
Police found Hibbert and Patterson shot in the head. They were pronounced dead at the scene. A police source said they may have been victims of a robbery-related homicide; an investigation is underway. “Somebody knows what happened out there,” said LAPD Cmdr. Andy Smith. “Right now it is a mystery to us.”
Hibbert’s father, mother and sister said in interviews that he had never been involved with gangs or gotten into trouble. He worked part-time as a shoe salesman at the Puma Store on the Third Street Promenade, and on weekends he helped with deliveries and accounts at his father’s ice-carving business, said Clifford Hibbert Sr., a chef at the LAX Hilton.
Brown, who said she is on disability with breast cancer, said her son had come home from his job on Friday evening, kissed her and said, “I love you; see you later,” before leaving. Hibbert had told his girlfriend, a registered nurse who was working that evening, that he and his friends were going to a party in Northridge, according to his sister, Ayanna Brown.
She said one of Hibbert’s friends had bought a new BMW, and the four youths decided to carpool to the party.
Brown said her brother had worked with at-risk children during his first years in college. “He was a young, beautiful person who had a vision,” she said. “And he was robbed of his life. My brother gave everyone the benefit of the doubt. We gave him so much love.”
According to Melvon George, a friend of the family and a student at Cal State Northridge, Hibbert had been taking a black studies course. “Only two weeks ago, we had a discussion about gangs and how they were destroying the black community,” George said.
Original Article found at LA Times
Click HERE for Video
Clifton Hibbert Jr. seemed to be a young man going places. The son of Jamaican immigrants, he did well at Santa Monica High School and won a scholarship to Cal State Northridge. At 22, he was only a few weeks away from graduation. He aspired to become a lawyer.
“He was a person with integrity,” said his mother, Donna Brown. “He was compassionate. He loved his family. He was focused on his future.”
But Friday, shortly before 2 a.m., Hibbert and a friend, Kenneth Patterson, 23, were found gunned down. Police said they and two other youths had driven to an apartment complex in the 4200 block of Figueroa Street in South Los Angeles, a neighborhood of frequent drug deals and gang- related crime.
Two of the youths dropped off Hibbert and Patterson and drove around the corner to find parking, and then heard gunshots, they told police.
Police found Hibbert and Patterson shot in the head. They were pronounced dead at the scene. A police source said they may have been victims of a robbery-related homicide; an investigation is underway. “Somebody knows what happened out there,” said LAPD Cmdr. Andy Smith. “Right now it is a mystery to us.”
Hibbert’s father, mother and sister said in interviews that he had never been involved with gangs or gotten into trouble. He worked part-time as a shoe salesman at the Puma Store on the Third Street Promenade, and on weekends he helped with deliveries and accounts at his father’s ice-carving business, said Clifford Hibbert Sr., a chef at the LAX Hilton.
Brown, who said she is on disability with breast cancer, said her son had come home from his job on Friday evening, kissed her and said, “I love you; see you later,” before leaving. Hibbert had told his girlfriend, a registered nurse who was working that evening, that he and his friends were going to a party in Northridge, according to his sister, Ayanna Brown.
She said one of Hibbert’s friends had bought a new BMW, and the four youths decided to carpool to the party.
Brown said her brother had worked with at-risk children during his first years in college. “He was a young, beautiful person who had a vision,” she said. “And he was robbed of his life. My brother gave everyone the benefit of the doubt. We gave him so much love.”
According to Melvon George, a friend of the family and a student at Cal State Northridge, Hibbert had been taking a black studies course. “Only two weeks ago, we had a discussion about gangs and how they were destroying the black community,” George said.
Missing: Chioma Gray
Posted in Missing, Project New Era, Ridiculousness on March 31, 2008 by projectnewera
*Editor’s Note: This is a flyer that I found online. I will post more articles related to this case when and if I find them. I have not been having any luck with it. However, I will say that in doing a Google search for it, the website Black & Missing posted about Chioma but had about the same upsets as I did with no results coming through.
Why doesn’t she matter? Why wasn’t she good enough to, at the very LEAST, have local coverage? I am almost willing to bet lock, stock & barrel that if she had blonde hair (that was NOT a weave), blue eyes (that were NOT contacts) and melanin deprived skin, she’d most certainly be on Entertainment Tonight, Inside Edition, CNN, Larry King Live, etc. I mean, must I go on?
It gets more and more ridiculous by the minute!
Why doesn’t she matter? Why wasn’t she good enough to, at the very LEAST, have local coverage? I am almost willing to bet lock, stock & barrel that if she had blonde hair (that was NOT a weave), blue eyes (that were NOT contacts) and melanin deprived skin, she’d most certainly be on Entertainment Tonight, Inside Edition, CNN, Larry King Live, etc. I mean, must I go on?
It gets more and more ridiculous by the minute!
Missing: Asha Degree
Posted in Missing, Project New Era on March 31, 2008 by projectnewera
*Editor’s Note: This story hits a little close to home, hence my reason for reposting it YEARS later. The parents of Asha are actually friends of several people that I know quite well. Its amazing how the story of Polly Klaas was dragged through the media a million times over but very few people know anything about Asha. Just goes to show you that the media, for the most part, doesn’t really care about black people. Introducing….Project New Era!
Original Article found at Shelby Star
*Once you visit the link, look at the picture to the right of Asha’s mother and father…and read the caption just below it. The media doesn’t even give enough of a damn about us that they got the DATE of her disappearance WRONG! Get it together, people!
Unsung Hero: Blair Holt
Posted in Murdered, Project New Era, Unsung Hero on March 31, 2008 by projectnewera
*Editor’s Note: This is one of the most heroic stories I have read in a LONG time. It amazes me how there are still a few people in this world who would so willingly put their lives and sanity at risk to save someone else. I sincerely hope that the city of Chicago..the state of Illinois…will honor this young man. Its more than deserved. May he RIP.
Original Article found at CBS 2
Family Mourns Teen Hero Killed In CTA Bus Shooting
South Side Students On Edge After Shooting Near Percy Julian High School
FEATURED SLIDESHOW: See This Week’s News In Photos
CBS 2′s Mai Martinez, Rafael Romo, Dorothy Tucker and Dana Kozlov contributed to this report.
CHICAGO (CBS) ― The search continued Friday night for the gunman in a deadly bus shooting on Chicago’s South Side Thursday.
And as CBS 2′s Dana Kozlov reports, Friday night family members were remembering the young victim who lost his life.
Chicago Fire Department Captain Annette Nance-Holt struggles to speak for a moment. Her pain is unmistakable.
“I’m so proud of my baby. I would do anything to get him back, though,” Nance-Holt said. “I wish it was me. I wish it was me.”
“I really don’t know how I’m going to get through this, I really don’t,” she said.
Nance-Holt’s only child, 16-year-old Blair Holt, was killed on a CTA bus Thursday afternoon after a teenage gunman got on and opened fire, hitting five people. Holt was on his way home from Julian High School.
Victim Tiara Reed’s father says Holt was shot point blank after he pushed Tiara out of the way.
Nance-Holt says her son’s heroism doesn’t surprise her.
“This is the story about a young black man who had a promising future ahead for himself and who could change the world, who could change a lot of things and who people looked up to,” she said.
(Cont.) You can find the rest of the article by clicking HERE
Social Irresponsibility: 12 Year Old Stripper
Posted in Project New Era, Ridiculousness on March 31, 2008 by projectnewera
*Editor’s Note: This is nuts. I’m sorry but WHO are the powers that be in this area and how much is this strip club paying them on a monthly basis? This article has been posted around on several blogs but socially irresponsible behavior such as this bears repeating. For more information, also visit Black & Missing as the blog owner has also posted information regarding this “mess.”
Original Article found at Chron.com
DALLAS — The city cannot shut down a Dallas strip club just because a 12-year-old danced nude there.
The city ordinance that regulates sexually oriented businesses does not allow authorities to revoke the license of such a business for employing someone younger than 18.
“There’s a laundry list of things we can use to deny or revoke a license, but having a 12-year-old dancing in their establishment is not one of the things that automatically enables us to revoke their license,” said Lt. Christina Smith, a Dallas police vice unit commander who oversees licensing of such establishments.
Authorities say that during a two-week period last year, the sixth-grader danced at Diamonds Cabaret. They also say they found a 17-year-old girl working in the club in January.
Police are continuing to investigate whether the club’s management knew that the girl — a runaway at the time — was underage.
In a faxed statement, the strip club management said it was “shocked and startled” by the allegations.
“Diamond’s Cabaret does not condone, support, nor promote, the delinquency of minors or exploitation of children,” the statement read.
Demonica Abron, 27, who worked as a stripper in the club, and David Bell, 22, have been charged with felony sexual performance of the child in connection with making the 12-year-old work at the club. Both are also accused of engaging in organized crime.
Bell is accused of two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and aggravated kidnapping. He was being held at the Dallas County Jail on Thursday in lieu of a $450,000 bail. It was unclear if Bell had an attorney.
Abron also faces a prostitution charge. A telephone number listing for her could not be found.
Original Article found at Chron.com
DALLAS — The city cannot shut down a Dallas strip club just because a 12-year-old danced nude there.
The city ordinance that regulates sexually oriented businesses does not allow authorities to revoke the license of such a business for employing someone younger than 18.
“There’s a laundry list of things we can use to deny or revoke a license, but having a 12-year-old dancing in their establishment is not one of the things that automatically enables us to revoke their license,” said Lt. Christina Smith, a Dallas police vice unit commander who oversees licensing of such establishments.
Authorities say that during a two-week period last year, the sixth-grader danced at Diamonds Cabaret. They also say they found a 17-year-old girl working in the club in January.
Police are continuing to investigate whether the club’s management knew that the girl — a runaway at the time — was underage.
In a faxed statement, the strip club management said it was “shocked and startled” by the allegations.
“Diamond’s Cabaret does not condone, support, nor promote, the delinquency of minors or exploitation of children,” the statement read.
Demonica Abron, 27, who worked as a stripper in the club, and David Bell, 22, have been charged with felony sexual performance of the child in connection with making the 12-year-old work at the club. Both are also accused of engaging in organized crime.
Bell is accused of two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and aggravated kidnapping. He was being held at the Dallas County Jail on Thursday in lieu of a $450,000 bail. It was unclear if Bell had an attorney.
Abron also faces a prostitution charge. A telephone number listing for her could not be found.
Mistaken Identity: Isaac Singletary
Posted in Follow Up, Injustice, Murdered, Project New Era on March 31, 2008 by projectnewera
*Editor’s Note: I have my own personal beliefs about people who are assigned to uphold the law. While I’m definitely not one to rally behind anyone that screams “F” the police or says that they ALL can’t be trust, I will say that there are TOO many occurrences such as these taking place. Why aren’t cops REQUIRED to go through some type of mental testing before they’re hired on as officers? If they are, most are missing the basics AFTER the fact
Original Article found at WFMZ
There are conflicting reports today in the shooting death of an 80-year-old man. Isaac Singletary died Saturday after a gun battle with undercover officers involved in a drug sting in front of his home. Police say they’re not sure who fired first, but Singletary was hit several times. Witnesses say the officers never told Singletary they were undercover and that he never should have been killed.
The folks on Westmont Street may not have known the name of the man who lived in this house, but they knew what he would not tolerate.
Police are still trying to figure out if the officers told Singletary they were cops. Right now, they just don’t know.
After several recent shootings by JSO, many in the community are fed up. It’s why cops made a special effort to show that Singletary was armed, showing the tree in his yard hit by bullets from his gun. But on Westmont Street, emotions are still raw after a man who had the respect of those on the street was gunned down doing what they say he always did — protecting his property.
*UPDATE*(Ain’t this about a b*tch?)
Original Article found at WOKV
A police review board has cleared officers in the shooting death of an 80-year-old man.
Isaac Singletary was killed in January, outside his home, when police say he came out with a gun and wouldn’t drop it.
Police were conducting an undercover drug sting on his street, and the State Attorney’s office says Singletary thought the officers were real drug dealers.
The Family of the victim says the man was trying to chase the “dealers” off his property, not knowing about the sting.
One of the 2 officers who fired on the man was detective James Narcisse, who says “(I was)…repeatedly yelling drop the gun drop the gun, and at this point I’m thinking, he’s going to kill me, he’s going to shoot me.”
The family says they plan to file a lawsuit in the case.
RIP: Daniyah Jackson
Posted in Crime, Injustice, Project New Era on March 31, 2008 by projectnewera
*Editor’s Note: Although this story is a few months old and its one that Im certain a few of you are aware of, it still breaks my heart beyond belief. I love children, hence (one of) the main focuses behind the start of this website. I can’t for the LIFE of me understand why someone would want to sleep with a person that young. The accused even made the comment that he was “just playing” when all of this happened. I can’t even begin to imagine what she went through during those few brutal minutes. Unfortunately, Daniyah passed away due to injuries sustained after her assault. Maybe its a good thing that she was taken home…she won’t have to worry about the memories of a monster in Heaven.
Original Article Found at Earth Times
PITTSBURGH, Nov. 18 A Pittsburgh man facing assault and other charges may also be charged with homicide, after the death of an infant who had been sexually assaulted and beaten.Daniyah Jackson, a 10-month-old girl who police said was assaulted Thursday night by her mother’s boyfriend, died Saturday afternoon, The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported Sunday.
Jackson had been on life support since the assault, which left her with severe bruises on her face, arms and legs. Police said she had been bitten on the chest.
Clinton Smith, 30, was being held without bond in the Allegheny County Jail on charges that included aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, rape and endangering a child. A preliminary hearing was set for Wednesday, the Tribune-Review said.
Police said Smith was likely to face homicide charges if an autopsy determined Jackson was a homicide victim.
Murdered: Brittany Williams
Posted in Crime, Murdered, Project New Era on March 30, 2008 by projectnewera
*Editors Note: Although it is believed to have been a random act of violence, authorities are not ruling out the possibility that this was racially motivated. It always sickens me beyond belief when someone’s life is cut short. This young lady was a student and wanted to become a nurse. Due to someone else’s lack of social responsibility, she’ll never be able to realize that dream and now, she leaves behind a family left to endure pain at the hands of someone else.
Original Story Posted @ ABC News
A 19-year-old who authorities say fatally shot a 21-year-old woman sniper style as she sat in a fast food drive-through will be held without bond, a Nebraska judge ruled today.
Kyle Bormann was arrested Sunday night after he tried to flee from the Omaha crime scene. He was formally charged with first-degree murder in the death of Brittany Williams, who was struck in the head by a single shot from a high-powered rifle as she waited to pull up to the window at a combination Kentucky Fried Chicken and Long John Silver’s. Bormann also faces a use of a weapon to commit a felony charge.
“We charged him with first-degree murder,” Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine told ABC News. “Right now, I would say we don’t know what the motive is, but that’s still being investigated.”
While there was no connection between the alleged gunman and victim, Klein said, authorities could not rule out that the murder may have been racially motivated. Bormann is white and Williams was black.
Authorities say that Bormann was parked in a Chrysler Sebring between 100 and 200 yards from Williams’ car in the fast food chain’s drive-through lane, according to ABC News’ Omaha affiliate KETV. A bolt-action weapon owned by Bormann and outfitted with a scope was used. As investigators worked the crime scene, Bormann drove off, breaking through crime scene tape that had been set up.
Bormann, who was wearing hunting-style camouflage fatigues, later ditched the car and ran on foot, tossing the alleged weapon. “He had a rifle in his possession and threw that down,” Kleine said, “and that’s the rifle we now have in possession.” Authorities captured him and recovered additional rounds of ammunition.
In an interview after his arrest, Bormann admitted to police that he had shot Williams, an assistant prosecutor said today in court, according to KETV.
Kleine said that his office will consider seeking the death penalty in what he described as a “very disturbing” crime that instantly made him think about the Dec. 5 massacre inside the Von Maur store at Westroads Mall in Omaha. In that case, 19-year-old Robert Hawkins opened fire on Christmas shoppers and mall employees, killing eight before he turned the gun on himself.
Missing: Monica Renee Bowie
Posted in Missing, Project New Era on March 30, 2008 by projectnewera
*Editor’s Note: If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of Monica Bowie, you are encouraged to contact the Dekalb County (Georgia) Police Department as soon as possible at (770)724-7850. Although it should not be expected, a reward is being offered.
Original Article via Creative Loafing
Monica Renee Bowie telephoned her mother in Pittsburgh twice on July 4.
“We talked about her wedding plans,” says her mother, Linda Howard. “She’s getting married on March 30, next year.”
It was the last time they spoke.
Howard flew to Atlanta last Friday to take part in a public search of her daughter’s neighborhood near Lenox Square mall. DeKalb County police say she was kidnapped on July 5 from the parking lot of the Berkshires at Lenox Park apartments.
“Let her go,” Howard says. “I’m not interested in prosecution. I just want my daughter back.”
Local TV stations and the AJC have reported Bowie’s disappearance and subsequent search efforts, but with less frequency, follow-up and gusto than they gave Jennifer “Runaway Bride” Wilbanks or even the recent East Atlanta kidnappings of two young attorneys.
The national media (CNN, Fox and syndicated tabloid programs) have ignored it.
Howard thinks police are doing all they can to find her daughter, but she – along with other family members and friends – is frustrated by the relative lack of media exposure Bowie’s kidnapping has received. “Maybe it’s because she’s my daughter, but there are smaller events that have gotten covered,” Howard says.
Bloggers and commentators on several local news sites (including CL) blame the relative lack of attention paid to Bowie’s disappearance by the media on Bowie’s skin color – sentiments echoed by one of the several local news cameramen who recorded last Thursday’s canvassing of a west Atlanta neighborhood by some of Bowie’s friends.
“For it to be national news, she has to be blond and white and cute,” the cameraman said. “It’s sad.”
Art Harris, a two-time Emmy-winning investigative journalist who worked at CNN for 13 years, says that, in his experience, TV news producers do indeed prefer blond, blue-eyed victims. But he says physical appearance is just one of several factors.
TV news producers, Harris says, are less inclined to go all-out to cover victims whose plight may appear ambiguous, the result of their own reckless or criminal behavior.
If that’s the case, Bowie’s appeal to TV producers was fatally undermined by two pieces of her biography.
First, she was arrested for marijuana and gun possession in June. Her attorney, Gerald Griggs, says it’s the first time she was ever arrested and that the charges were ultimately dropped. Secondly, she has, at times, worked as a stripper since moving to Atlanta in 1999.
“She’s as deserving a human being as anyone, but her story isn’t an easy sell to TV producers,” says Harris, now a news blogger at artharris.com and a correspondent for “Entertainment Tonight.” “That could change fast if the investigation reveals she’s a clear-cut, damsel-in-distress victim.”
At 11:19 p.m. on July 5, DeKalb County police responded to a 911 call reporting a disturbance in the parking lot of the Berkshires at Lenox Park apartments, where Bowie lives. Witnesses told police they heard a woman screaming for help.
According to the police incident report, officers found signs of a struggle in a numbered parking space, including a woman’s jacket, eyeglasses and two broken fingernails. Papers found by police in the parking space bore Bowie’s name.
Witnesses said a burgundy Mercury Sable parked in the space earlier that day sped away from the parking lot after witnesses reported the screams. The car was later found abandoned in west Atlanta. According to news reports, it was badly damaged by fire.
Jasper Keels, 24, of Decatur was arrested July 8 for stealing the car from an acquaintance, and for possession of drugs, but he denies any involvement in Bowie’s disappearance. Police won’t say if they believe he was involved in the kidnapping. He is still in custody.
Another possible suspect identified by DeKalb County police is 27-year-old Lonnie Bennett of Atlanta. According to a police incident report, Bennett was seen “coming out of or near” Bowie’s apartment after the alleged kidnapping.
Pulled over after leaving the parking deck at Bowie’s apartment complex, Bennett’s car contained what police describe as a “large paper bag” that contained cash. Police would not confirm how much money was in the bag, only that it was a “large amount.” Bennett has been in and out of Fulton County Jail on narcotics charges, as well as theft and sexual-battery charges.
Griggs, Bowie’s lawyer, is acting as a local spokesman in Atlanta for Bowie’s family. Asked if Bowie is acquainted with Bennett, he replied, “No, he’s an acquaintance of Shernotta Walters.”
Walters, according to Bowie’s friends and family, is Bowie’s fiance. He was arrested in June, during the same incident that led to Bowie’s arrest, for drug possession and felony possession of a firearm. At the time, Walters was on parole after having served almost two years in prison for drug offenses.
He was in jail when Bowie was kidnapped. Her mother says she spoke to Walters in jail and does not believe he was involved with the kidnapping.
Bowie’s family and friends describe the 34-year-old as a sweet, hard-working, vivacious entrepreneur who owns her own fashion and music-promotion businesses. “Monica’s a really good person,” says her cousin, Lateshya Ellis. “If you sat with Monica, she would wow you.”
Some say Bowie’s family isn’t media-savvy enough to draw national attention to her kidnapping the way the press has latched onto other disappearances. “Laci Peterson’s family worked the media,” says a former CNN producer who now works for a local station. “They kept having press conferences and prayer vigils.”
Harris says the family’s public response to a kidnapping is a critical factor determining what kind of coverage it will receive.
“This is going to sound sick,” Harris says. “But they’ve got to be loud and market her life and convince the media that she deserves to be loved as much they love her. People who can figure out how to work the system get much better results.”
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