The clip below shows Tiffany Wright's biological Grandmother Shirley Boston speaking out to the NY media about her granddaughter's death. Tiffany a Black Teenage girl, lived in North Carolina and was also murdered.
The DA's office handling her case didn't want to proceed with the investigation even though there was sufficient evidence.
I also know that per Charlotte-Mecklenburg DSS Ms. Boston was not allowed to attend Tiffany's funeral, nor will Charlotte officials tell her where Tiffany is buried. This is a shame! I guess local Charlotte DSS and Law Enforcement Officials are desperately trying to hide Negligence in Tiffany's death.
How the Media Treats Murder
Ten women have been found slain or have been declared missing in Rocky Mount, N.C., in recent years. But the rest of the country hasn't heard about a possible serial killer stalking the young women in this Southern town of 60,000. The latest victim, Elizabeth Jane Smallwood, was identified on Oct. 12.
Why have the Rocky Mount, NC homicides been largely ignored?
"When you think about the famous missing-person cases over the last few years it's Chandra Levy, Natalee Holloway, and Laci Peterson," notes Sam Sommers, associate professor of psychology at Tufts University. All these women had a few things in common—they were white, educated, and came from middle-class families.
The victims in Rocky Mount—which residents describe as a "typical Southern town," and is about 40 percent white and more than 50 percent black—were different. They were all African-American, many were poor, and some had criminal histories including drug abuse and prostitution.
"If it was someone of a different race, things would have been dealt with the first time around; it wouldn't have taken the fifth or sixth person to be murdered," says Andre Knight, a city-council member and president of the local NAACP chapter. "All these women knew each other and lived in the same neighborhood; this is the sign of a potential serial killer. When it didn't get the kind of attention it needed, it made the African-American community frustrated."
Police have not officially linked all the murders and disappearances, but community members claim the similarities among the women, their lifestyles, and the location of their bodies make a connection all too obvious. "If you find two bodies in the same location, this could be the work of the same person or people," says Rocky Mount Police Chief John Manley, who would not comment on a connection, but implied the possibility.
Rumors are running rampant around the town about the identity of the serial killer. There is not much physical evidence, leading some to speculate it's a former law-enforcement officer or someone in the military. Others have deduced that the killer is targeting specific women as a form of revenge for contracting HIV from a prostitute. Along with Smallwood, the murders of Taraha Nicholson, 28, Jarniece Hargrove, 31, Ernestine Battle, 50, Jackie Nikelia Thorpe, 35, Melody Wiggins, 29, and Denise Williams, 21, remain unsolved. Authorities are also searching for Yolanda Lancaster, 37, Joyce Renee Durham, 46, and Christine Boone, 43.
One man is in custody for the murder of Nicholson, who was the fourth victim, discovered back in 2005. This past September, police charged Antwan Maurice Pittman, 31, with her murder. He is accused of strangling Nicholson and dumping her partially clothed body in the woods. So far, authorities have not linked Pittman to the other murders. "There's a lot of mixed sentiments about Pittman," says Knight, referring to community speculation about whether police have charged the right man.
"In this Information Age, cases get solved through sheer publicity, whether it's an Amber Alert or America's Most Wanted, anyone could have a tip or be a potential source of information," Sommers says.
But the national media did show some interest in the story after it was revealed that five women were murdered in or around the town. "Nancy Grace called and wanted to have some of us on her show, but before it aired there was a white woman from Georgia that went missing. The Nancy Grace show was canceled," Knight says. HLN network, which broadcasts Nancy Grace, confirmed that Knight was booked for the show, which was ultimately canceled to profile the disappearance of Kristi Cornwell, a white woman from Blairsville, Ga., who went missing during an evening walk. Representatives from Nancy Grace told NEWSWEEK, "The booking was changed due to news that was breaking that day," and emphasized the change had nothing to do with the race of the victim. On Aug. 12, Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees covered the story.
That bit of media exposure brought new resources to the investigation. Originally, only a small amount of reward money was collected for information about the case.
After the story aired on CNN, New Jersey philanthropist Peter Pinto, of the Kefalas-Pinto Foundation, donated $10,000 from a personal trust. In late September, the city donated an additional $5,000, which was matched by a $5,000 county donation, bringing the amount of reward money to $20,000. If there were no media coverage, there might have been no reward. The money isn't just going to help with the investigation, it's helping the families of the victims, specifically their children.
The money proved to be a blessing for Jurary Tucker, the mother of Yolanda Lancaster, who has been missing since February 2008. "We were able to use some of the money to get [Yolanda's] children ready for school," Tucker says. "They have to wear uniforms to school and they are very expensive; the money came at a good time." Tucker became the primary custodian of her granddaughter and grandson after Lancaster's disappearance.
When Annie Le, a 24-year-old Yale pharmacology graduate student, went missing on Sept. 8, it only took three days for the university to offer a $20,000 reward. In the case of the Rocky Mount women, it took more than six years to raise that same amount of money for 10 women.
Concerned residents of the town tried to promote the case by distributing fliers and purchasing a billboard advertisement featuring the women, but their efforts may have backfired. Mug-shot photographs of the victims, many pictured in orange jumpsuits, sometimes appearing disheveled or under the influence of alcohol or drugs, were used in their efforts. Unlike the images of a smiling Annie Le, these images showed the women during darker times.
"Everyone has a dark side at some point, but you want to put your best out front when you are trying to appeal [to the public] for help," Chief Manley says. "When you look at obituaries in the newspaper, [the photos] show a bright time in someone's life; you really want to show the person when they are doing well."
Manley says the police department used the victims' driver's license photographs to help with search efforts. "You don't need to air dirty laundry. Seeing someone's dark side doesn't appeal to the conscience of other people," he says.
Concern over the buried headlines and lack of national media attention isn't the only thing upsetting residents; some say there are deeper festering racial tensions in the community. When a candlelight vigil was held to commemorate the murdered women, only black community officials attended. When other vigils were organized for deaths in Rocky Mount, there was no racial divide, and community members, both black and white, attended the events in droves. "When a prominent attorney's wife died, we all came together and the church was full, but when the community was coming together to share their pain and reach out to these families, only black elected officials were there," Knight says. "They [white officials] didn't have an excuse, they just didn't come."
White officials, including the mayor, say they weren't invited to the memorial. "It's hard to attend something that you don't even know is occurring," says David Combs, mayor of Rocky Mount. "I was glad that we had the vigil and had people who were involved."
For the families who just want to locate their daughters or bring closure to their murders, the investigation has been a long, drawn-out process. Tucker speaks about her daughter in the past tense, quickly catches herself, and shifts to the present tense, emphasizing her commitment to finding her daughter. "As far as the investigation goes, I just hope they continue to do the best they can to put closure to the missing girls and the girls that have been found," Tucker says. "Whatever it is, we are here waiting."
"Regardless of drug addiction or other problems, that still doesn't give a person the right to kill another," says Knight. "If we can give a terrorist a day in court, we can get these women justice."
Tiffany Wright's adoptive brother Royce Mitchell to stay in jail
Royce Mitchell will remain in jail until a future hearing to decide if he broke a prison-release agreement that required him to stay out of trouble, a federal judge ruled this morning
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police call Mitchell a “person of interest” in the Sept. 14 shooting death of Tiffany Wright, a pregnant Hawthorne High junior.
On the day of Tiffany's death, police arrested Mitchell on a charge of statutory rape and taking indecent liberties with Tiffany. The sex charges were dropped last week after a DNA test showed Mitchell was not the father of her baby.
But a federal warrant has kept Mitchell in Mecklenburg jail. It alleges he violated a federal post-release agreement following a five-year prison term for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy in Buffalo.
The alleged violation is the fact that he was charged with the sex crimes, even though they were dropped by the state.
Mitchell, 36, is a potential danger to the community and a flight risk because of his past criminal history and the lower burden of proof required to convict him of violating the agreement, U.S. Magistrate Judge David Cayer ruled.
Mitchell’s defense attorney, Claire Rauscher, argued that he should be released under electronic monitoring because he had a job lined up as a truck driver and a landscaper and could stay with a cousin. She also noted that Mecklenburg District Attorney Peter Gilchrist dropped the sex charges against Mitchell.
“It’s extraordinarily relevant as to what the (local) prosecutor’s take is in this case,” Rauscher said. “Peter Gilchrist didn’t say it was a weak case; he said it was a no case.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimlani Ford outlined Mitchell’s past criminal history, which included “slashing a man with a razor knife at a rock concert” in 1996. “He is clearly a danger to the community,” she said.
Four supporters of Mitchell attended the hearing, including a Mr. Jones, who was referred to in court as a “Masonic brother” to Mitchell. “He’s a friend of mine," said Jones who would not give his full name. "You’re supposed to support your friends."
The other supporters, including the cousin, would not speak to the press.
A date for the next hearing has not been set.
Court Documents tell of pressure for Abortion
Royce Mitchell was pressuring 15-year-old Tiffany Wright to end her pregnancy - and took her to an abortion clinic - according to new court documents that may shed light on why police say Mitchell should be prosecuted for statutory rape.
The documents, released Tuesday, say Mitchell took Tiffany - his adopted sister - to a Charlotte abortion clinic in mid-July but was turned away because, at 21 weeks of pregnancy, she was too far along.
Within days, Mitchell planned a trip to an Atlanta clinic where Tiffany's pregnancy could be terminated, the documents say. Tiffany refused to go.
On Sept. 14, Tiffany, a Hawthorne High junior, was fatally shot as she waited for her school bus on Mallard Creek Road. Doctors delivered her baby girl, but the infant died.
The new information comes in affidavits from the day of the killing, when police sought search warrants for Mitchell's south Charlotte home and an apartment police say he visited that day.
Police call Mitchell, 36, a "person of interest" in the killing, but they haven't charged him. On the day of Tiffany's death, Mitchell was jailed on charges of statutory rape and taking indecent liberties with Tiffany.
But those charges were dropped last week by prosecutors after a DNA test showed Mitchell was not the father of her baby. Without Tiffany alive to testify about her relationship with Mitchell, prosecutors said the case lacked enough evidence.
The move angered Charlotte-Mecklenburg police, who criticized the prosecutors' decision. Police said they believe there's "probable cause" based on "evidence gathered" to prosecute Mitchell on the sex charges - even without DNA evidence.
The affidavits released Tuesday say Tiffany's foster parents reported that Mitchell picked her up on July 20 at about 10:30 p.m. "to take her to visit a dying relative." Tiffany later reported she was really being held against her will by Mitchell and an unidentified female "as they attempted to convince Tiffany to engage in an abortion by non-medical personnel," the affidavits say.
The documents also say that Mitchell scheduled an abortion in Atlanta for the next day and wanted to pick up Tiffany at 5 a.m. from the foster home. But Tiffany refused.
The affidavit also says that Mitchell moved away from his wife and kids in July, at the request of the Department of Social Services, because of allegations he'd committed statutory rape with Tiffany. But Mitchell's wife told detectives that he showed up at the house at 6:45 a.m. on Sept. 14, less than an hour after Tiffany was shot. He took a shower and changed his clothes, the affidavit says.
Police seized a T-shirt, shorts, a tank top and a letter during their search of the home.
Police declined to discuss how Mitchell's actions alleged in the affidavits might have aided the prosecution. Deputy Chief David Graham said he can't comment, but said, in general: "No one piece of evidence standing alone means much, but when tied together helps establish direction for an investigation and possible motive."
Mecklenburg District Attorney Peter Gilchrist stood by his decision to drop the sex charges, saying his office knew about the information in the affidavits.
That evidence, he said, can't be used in court because it's hearsay evidence, and Tiffany can't testify to corroborate it. "What a person who is dead may have told someone else is not admissible," Gilchrist said.
He said defendants must be able to cross-examine those who testify against them.
Mitchell remains in the Mecklenburg jail. He's accused of violating the conditions of his release from federal prison in 2007 because sex charges were brought against him.
Mitchell served five years for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy in Buffalo, N.Y., and remains under federal supervision. The conditions of his release require that Mitchell have a job, meet regularly with a federal officer and stay out of trouble.
Mitchell lost his job on a street crew for the city of Charlotte after he was charged with statutory rape. A city news release said he was fired for "falsifying his employment application, which is in violation of city policy."
Mitchell has a hearing set for Thursday in federal court. A judge must decide whether there's probable cause that Mitchell violated the conditions of his release and whether he should remain jailed without bond while the federal case proceeds.
If a judge later finds that Mitchell violated the terms, he could be sent back to prison.
To prove a violation, prosecutors have a lower burden than they would at trial. They must prove only that the preponderance of the evidence shows that Mitchell committed sex acts with Tiffany, but need not prove it beyond a reasonable doubt.
"When state prosecutors dismissed the charges, they didn't say he didn't do it," said Greg Forest, chief of the federal probation office in Charlotte. "They said they didn't feel like they had the evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt....We don't have to have proof beyond a reasonable doubt."
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Sources: Newsweek, WIVB, McClatchy Newspapers, Charlotte Observer, Charmeckda.com, Flickr, Creepygif.com, Google Maps
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