Serial killer in SC/NC

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Reward offered for tip leading to arrest
By Mike Hixenbaugh
Rocky Mount Telegram

Thursday, August 27, 2009

A New Jersey-based charity is offering a $10,000 reward to anyone with information leading to an arrest in the murders of five Rocky Mount women.

Peter Pinto of the Kefalas-Pinto Foundation also made a $10,000 donation to a community group working to raise awareness about the string of murders that date back to 2005, Pinto’s attorney Anthony Pantano said.

“Mr. Pinto was watching the news and saw a story about the case in Rocky Mount,” Pantano said. “It looks like this is just a horrible situation, and he wants to do whatever he can to help.”

At least five Rocky Mount women, all black, have been abducted, killed and abandoned in fields and wooded areas since 2005, and three other women with similar profiles are missing. Investigators believe the homicides, as well as the murder of a sixth woman yet to be identified, might be linked.

Bodies of all the victims – Taraha Shenice Nicholson, 28, Ernestine Battle, 50, Jackie Nikelia Thorpe, 35, Melody Wiggins, 29, and Jarneice Hargrove, 31 – were found between 2005 and early this year along the same rural stretch outside Rocky Mount.

Authorities are searching for at least three missing women in connection with the investigation: Yolanda “Snap” Lancaster, 37; Joyce Renee Durham, 46; and Christine Marie Boone, 43.

Edgecombe County Sheriff James Knight won’t reveal details about the investigation into the murders but recently said the task force of local, state and federal authorities has tracked more than 300 leads.

Investigators won’t say for sure if they believe the murders are related, but some outside profilers are certain the crimes are the work of a serial killer.

Pantano said he and his client are working with Councilman Andre Knight, Edgecombe County Sheriff James Knight and the Rocky Mount Police Department to set up the reward.

“I’m excited and thankful that someone outside our community saw how important it is to help this city and county to catch the perpetrator,” Andre Knight said. “I count it a blessing they made this nice donation for the reward and for the families.”

Knight, also president of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said he hopes both the city and county will offer to match the reward.

The $10,000 donated to Missing or Murdered Sisters, headed by Stephanie Jones, will be used to help families of victims and to continue the group’s awareness campaign. Pinto also has expressed interest in offering more financial help in the future.

“(Pinto) is willing to do whatever he can do to help bring justice for these families,” Pantano said.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the Rocky Mount Police Department at 252-972-1411.
_________________
"Sell Crazy Someplace Else. We're all stocked up here."

Line from the movie As Good As It Gets

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Developments expected in slain women cases
Tuesday, September 01, 2009 | 11:47 AM

TARBORO -- The Edgecombe County Sheriff's Office is expected to announce a development in the murders of six Rocky Mount women.

Sheriff James Knight will hold a news conference at 2:30 p.m. but he would not give details about what would be revealed.

The sheriff's office formed a task force in June with the State Bureau of Investigation and asked the FBI to consult after a sixth body was found along rural roads outside Rocky Mount. Authorities have not confirmed the deaths are related.

The first woman was reported missing in 2005. Three other women are still missing.

Authorities say the women share similar backgrounds.
PHOTO OF BILLBOARD AT:
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=6993310
_________________
"Sell Crazy Someplace Else. We're all stocked up here."

Line from the movie As Good As It Gets

[rumaj]

Arrest made in serial case

Pittman a suspect in one of five deaths that may be related

By Mike Hixenbaugh
Rocky Mount Telegram

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Authorities have made an arrest in the murder of one of the five Rocky Mount women found dead in Edgecombe County since 2005, family members of the victim confirmed today.

Diana Nicholson said a detective working the case contacted her to tell her authorities had arrested 31-year-old Antwan Maurice Pittman in connection with the murder of her daughter, 28-year-old Taraha Shenice Nicholson.

Nicholson’s body was discovered March 7 in the woods off Marriott Road, three weeks after her mother reported her missing from East Rocky Mount.

Nicholson was only partially clothed, authorities said, and she had been strangled.

“I’m so happy they found the man who killed my baby,” Diana Nicholson, struggling to speak as she wept moments after learning of the arrest. “I want to know why he did it. I want to know. I know he did it. I think he did the other murders, too.”

Taraha was the fourth of five such victims discovered along the same rural stretch in Western Edgecombe County since 2005.

Pittman, a registered sex offender previously convicted of indecent liberties with a child, was arrested on Aug. 12 for driving with a revoked license, among other charges. He was being held in Nash County jail on the charges, awaiting a court date later this month, according to court records.

Authorities would not comment on the case.

Officials from both the Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office and the Rocky Mount Police Department earlier announced plans for the press conference about developments in the case to be held at 2:30 p.m. today outside the sheriff’s office in Tarboro.

At least five Rocky Mount women, all black, have been abducted, killed and abandoned in fields and wooded areas since 2005, and three other women with similar profiles are missing. Investigators believe the homicides, as well as the murder of a sixth woman yet to be identified, might be linked.

Each of the victims had a history of drug abuse and suspected prostitution.

Edgecombe County Sheriff James Knight is leading a task force investigation of the murders that includes the FBI, the SBI and the Rocky Mount Police Department.

Bodies of all the victims – Taraha Shenice Nicholson, 28, Ernestine Battle, 50, Jackie Nikelia Thorpe, 35, Melody Wiggins, 29, and Jarneice Hargrove, 31 – were found between 2005 and early this year along the same rural stretch outside Rocky Mount.

Authorities are searching for at least three missing women in connection with the investigation: Yolanda “Snap” Lancaster, 37; Joyce Renee Durham, 46; and Christine Marie Boone, 43.

Investigators won’t say for sure if they believe the murders are related, but some outside profilers are certain the crimes are the work of a serial killer.
_________________
"Sell Crazy Someplace Else. We're all stocked up here."

Line from the movie As Good As It Gets

[rumaj]

Suspect in Rocky Mount case goes to court


By Mike Hixenbaugh
The Rocky Mount Telegram

Wednesday, September 02, 2009

TARBORO — The man accused of strangling a Rocky Mount woman and dumping her body in the woods made his first court appearance on those charges Wednesday.

Antwan Maurice Pittman, 31, showed no emotion and said little during the brief hearing at the Edgecombe County courthouse. Pittman faces one count of first-degree murder in the death of 28-year-old Taraha Shenice Nicholson.

Authorities said they will continue investigating if Pittman had anything to do with the deaths of four other women killed in similar circumstances since 2005.

Nicholson's mother, Diana Nicholson, wiped tears as bailiffs escorted the shackled suspect into the courtroom.

“When I saw him, I just had so many questions,” Nicholson said. “Why? Why would he kill my baby?”

District Court Judge Pell Cooper granted Pittman a probable cause hearing for Sept. 16 and appointed two attorneys — Tommy Moore and Tom Sallenger — to defend him. District Attorney Robert Evans represented the state during the hearing.

Taraha Nicholson's body was discovered March 7 in the woods in rural Edgecombe County, three weeks after her mother reported her missing. Nicholson was partially clothed, authorities said, and she had been choked to death, according to an autopsy.

Nicholson was the fourth victim discovered since 2005 along the same rural stretch in western Edgecombe County. Police have yet to identify a sixth woman found dead in February inside city limits.

Although members of a task-force investigation have refrained from sharing details of the case, some outside profilers have said they are certain the crimes are the work of a serial killer.

All the known victims were black women from low-income families in Rocky Mount. Most were known to have peddled sex to feed drug habits, according to friends and family.

Those similarities lead some family members to believe Pittman, a registered sex offender, might be responsible for the other murders as well.

Pittman, known to have lived within a few miles of all the victims at different times since the early '90s, was arrested on Aug. 12 for driving with a revoked license and failure to register his address as a sex offender. He was in Nash County jail on those charges this week when police charged him with Nicholson's murder.

Pittman was transferred Wednesday to Central Prison in Raleigh for his protection, jail officials said. He's being held with no bond.

Authorities would not say what led to Pittman's arrest, and it remains unclear if police believe Pittman might be a suspect in the other murders.

Pittman's mother, Gloria Pittman, dismissed the possibility, saying Wednesday her son is “incapable of killing someone.” She believes authorities are pinning the murder on her son to relieve media pressure surrounding the case.

Meanwhile, relatives of the other victims said they see hope in Pittman's arrest.

“We pray to God, if this is the guy, they draw connections between him and the other murders,” said Eunetta Whitaker, sister-in-law to the most recent victim, Jarneice Hargrove. “We miss Jarneice so much — she made us laugh — and so we're just hoping this leads to justice.”

Anthony Barnes, a Raleigh-based bail bondsman, said he freed Pittman from Nash County jail in 2007 after Pittman was accused of soliciting prostitutes in Rocky Mount, a charge that was dropped after the arresting officer left the department.

Pittman was convicted in 1994 of taking indecent sexual liberties with a 2-year-old, according to criminal records. He also had been convicted of assault, larceny, trespassing and resisting police in recent years.

Bodies of all the victims — Nicholson, 28, Hargrove, 31, Ernestine Battle, 50, Jackie Nikelia Thorpe, 35, and Melody Wiggins, 29 — were found between 2005 and early this year along the same rural stretch outside the city. Police are searching for three other missing women — Yolanda “Snap” Lancaster, 37, Joyce Renee Durham, 46, and Christine Boone, 43 — in connection with the investigation.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact the Rocky Mount Police Department at 252-972-1411.
_________________
"Sell Crazy Someplace Else. We're all stocked up here."

Line from the movie As Good As It Gets

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How the Media Treat Murder
Why isn't the story of several missing women in North Carolina getting attention?


By Krista Gesaman | Newsweek Web Exclusive
Oct 21, 2009

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 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.


MORE AT: ( 3 page article)

http://www.newsweek.com/id/218911
_________________
"Sell Crazy Someplace Else. We're all stocked up here."

Line from the movie As Good As It Gets

[WOLFPACK]

mostly poor prostitutes and drug addicts had a lot to do with underpublicizing the case...I think that had more to do with it than the fact the victims were black....

Reminds me of Grim sleeper and the case in Wisconsin..

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Officers increase reward for conviction of Jeff Davis murders

Tina Marie Macias • tmacias@theadvertiser.com • October 28, 2009

The reward for information leading to the arrest of the person or people responsible for murdering eight Jefferson Davis Parish women is now $85,000.

That is an increase from $35,000 and was announced at a press conference today held by Jeff Davis Sheriff Ricky Edwards. Tips can be made by calling 824-6662, or visiting www.jeffdaviscrimes.net.

The reward money is being offered by the Jefferson Davis Parish District Attorney's Office, the Jefferson Davis Parish Sheriff's Office and the FBI. Lamar Advertising has partnered with the Multi-Agency Task Force to use electronic and paper billboards in southwest Louisiana.

Since 2005, Loretta Chaisson Lewis, Ernestine Daniels Patterson, Kristen Gary Lopez, Whitnei Dubois, Laconia "Muggy" Brown, Crystal Benoit Zeno, Brittney Gary and Necole Jean Guillory have gone missing and turned up dumped in fields and canals.

It is believed that one person is responsible for the killings. Edwards today admitted that a "serial murder" is likely responsible for the deaths.
_________________
"Sell Crazy Someplace Else. We're all stocked up here."

Line from the movie As Good As It Gets

[rumaj]

Smallwood's brother in prison for serial killings


By MIke Hixenbaugh
Rocky Mount Telegram

Friday, October 30, 2009

The brother of one of seven Rocky Mount women found dead since 2003 is a convicted serial killer two states away, officials in Lexington, Ky., confirmed Friday.

Robert Franklin Smallwood Jr. was sentenced in November 2007 to three life sentences after pleading guilty in the murders of three women from December 1999 to April 2006. Robert Smallwood, the 35-year-old brother of Elizabeth Jane Smallwood, is considered Lexington’s only known serial killer.

Rocky Mount police are aware of the brother’s background, Capt. Laura Fahnestock said, pointing out that Robert Smallwood had been incarcerated since October 2007, prior to the deaths of his sister and three other Rocky Mount women considered in the probe.

Robert Smallwood, 35, pleaded guilty in 2007 to nine separate counts connected to the deaths of Doris Roberts in 1999, Sonora Allen in 2002 and Erica Butler in 2006, as well as the 2003 rape of retired school teacher Viola Greene, all in Kentucky.

All of the Kentucky murder victims, as in the Rocky Mount cases, were known to have traded sex to feed drug addictions, according to criminal records and 2007 media reports.

“For a victim of a suspected serial killer to also be the sibling of a serial killer, that’s very rare,” said John Kelly, president of the New Jersey-based System to Apprehend Lethal Killers, which has been studying the case. “You don’t see that. Here you have two damaged people, in different regards, coming from the same family. It’s tragic.”

Robert Smallwood is being held at a medium-security prison in Sandy Hook, Ky., according to Kentucky Department of Corrections officials.

The confirmation of the family connection came a day after dozens of Rocky Mount residents gathered to remember Elizabeth Smallwood, eight months after a prison work crew uncovered her skeletal remains off Melton Drive. Authorities finally identified the body earlier this month, but a cause of death has not been determined.

MORE AT:
http://www.rockymounttelegram.com/news/smallwoods-brother-in-prison-for-serial-killings-928986.html
_________________
"Sell Crazy Someplace Else. We're all stocked up here."

Line from the movie As Good As It Gets