December 2005 Archives
I apologize if I am not updating very often. Christmas was great and I am quite busy with my family. My heart goes out to those missing loved ones and to those who experience depression and sadness at what should be a happy time of year.
GOD BLESS YOU ALL!
I haven't updated in a few days because of some other commitments, but I am back for now.
I have some good news and some bad news.
First, I am very sad to say that Teketria Buggs' lifeless body may have been found, by Texas EquuSearch. Her stepfather is suspected of harming her. Our prayers are with her family.
Steven Carrington, 31, has been questioned extensively regarding [Teeky] Buggs' disappearance, and he still remains a major suspect in the case. No charges have been filed against Carrington for Buggs' death.
In happier news, Marlie Casseus has a new chance at a normal life!
Marlie, shown above BEFORE SURGERY underwent a 17 hour surgery on Wednesday, December 14th to remove the tumor-like mass from the upper part of her face. She is in stable condition and will need further surgeries. Her next procedure will take place in eight weeks; focusing on the removal of the mass in the jaw area. This second surgery will have an estimated cost of $90,000.
To help cover the costs, your donations are encouraged. Go to the International Kids Fund to donate.
In administrative news, look for some changes in the layout and focus of Voiceless Victims as we refocus on our main mission-reaching out to victims of crime, and helping them heal.
We will be holding another vigil on Saturday, December 10, 2005 at 5:00pm for Little Wallace. This will mark one month since Wallace’s disappearance. We are hoping to have as many people join us as possible. Inform all those that you can. We need all the support that we can get. The word has been spreading. The vigil will be held at Berkeley’s Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park Click here for map. The park is located at 2151 Martin Luther King Jr. Way between Allston Way and Center in Berkeley. Hope to see everyone there…
Last name :Richards
First name : Wallace
Age: 23
Gender : Male
Height :6′3″
Weight :235
Eyes: Brown
Hair :Black
Complextion:Medium
Race: African-American
Date of last contact : November 10th, 2005
Wallace was last seen wearing a white t-shirt, blue jeans, and a light-weight hunter green and grey Northface jacket. Wallace was driving a golden 2002 Mercedez Benz C240.
On Thursday November 10th, Wallace met friends in Pinole, dropped them off in San Francisco around 11:00am. Wallace made his way back to the east bay and was supposed to return to San Francisco at 7:30pm. He never made it back.
The car Wallace was last seen in was recoved in San Lorenzo at Embers Way and Hesperian Blvd on Tuesday, November 15th. It was believed to be parked there for at least 2 days.
If anyone has any information concerning his wherabouts or any information that may lead to us finding him, please contact the Berkeley Police Department, Missing Persons/Detective Division at 510-981-5900.
If you would prefer not to contact police directly, you may email Wallace Richard's Family at WallaceRichards
Johnia Hope Berry was an ETSU graduate who moved to Knoxville to enter the master's program at UT. On December 6, 2004, someone entered her Brendon Park Apartment and brutally stabbed her to death. Her killer is still at large.
For more information on Johnia, please see the Metro Pulse Online Article about Johnia Berry, or vist the website set up by Johnia's family
There is a $37,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the murder of Johnia Hope Berry on December 6, 2004.
** Update ** Today Wallace's parents are supposed to do an interview for Court TV via satellite from a studio in San Francisco for the show Catherine Crier Live Her show is on at 5pm EST/2pm PST and at 8pm EST/5pm PST. **
Wallace Richards has been missing since the 10th of November, 2005. His story has been covered in only a handful of news broadcasts, and a pair of local journalists are now asking what the difference is between Wallace's case, and the case of a local missing doctor.
I am glad that someone has spoken up about the case. Wallace's family misses him and wants him home.
Another local journalist, Wallace's girlfriend Sabrina, has been working diligently to get coverage for her "Little Wallace" since he went missing. The Berkeley police detectives have made his family aware of problems they are encountering with Metro PCS, his cell phone provider. They have issued a warrant and not received his phone records which we feel are vital to learning his whereabouts. Not only has Metro PCS not provided the detectives with the phone records but they have not made follow up calls they promised to make and the appropriate contact on their end has been unreachable.
If you are interested in helping, please contact the local television stations and politely request they cover the missing persons case.
We hope and pray for Wallace's safe return home.
Teketria Buggs, 12 has been missing since Friday afternoon. An amber alert was issued Sunday night.
Texas Authorities have information that makes them think something may have happened to her. They felt as though maybe this girl is in danger.
Teketria, nicknamed Teeky-Buggs, is described is 4-foot 10-inches tall, weighing about 95 lbs., with black hair, brown eyes and light brown skin. She was last seen wearing a red and white long-sleeved pullover shirt, blue jeans, and white tennis shoes.
Anyone with information about the missing girl is urged to call the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office at 281-341-4665.
More information is available at Fort Bend Now News
Video available here at KHOU.com. (Registration required.)
The Amber Alert wasn't issued until about 8 p.m. Sunday night, nearly 30 hours after the girl was reported as a runaway.
We like to have Amber Alerts issued much closer to the time that the child has gone missing," said Beth Albert, Harris County Amber Plan Director.
Each case is different, and Ft. Bend officials say that the initial report by the parents complicated things.
"The parents originally reported her as a runaway early Saturday morning, so when we received that as a runaway, it was treated as that," said Terriann Carlson of the Ft. Bend County sheriff's department.
The sheriff's department says the parents later changed their report.
"Somebody came here and took her. It was somebody my baby knew, and she was confident. For her not to holler and her grandmother's in the house, she trusted him," said her mother, LaRonald LaFoy.
Investigators say they have received some tips in this case, but they are still looking for that big break, the one that gets them closer to where Teketria Buggs might be.
Sophia Grace Arnold was reportedly abducted by her babysitter, Tammy F. Clark.
Tammy Clark has brought Sophia home safely.
Sophia Grace Arnold, 3, was returned to her home unharmed by Tammy F. Clark, 45, of Danville.
Clark's relatives told police that she has a history of disappearing for days at a time, Newell said.
"They have told us where she had several instances where she just disappeared and then when she came back, wouldn't talk about where she was or what she'd been doing," Newell said.
AURORA - No "credible" adult or child has seen Aaroné Thompson in at least 18 months, Aurora Police Chief Daniel Oates said during a news conference Friday, almost three weeks after the girl's father reported her missing.
Based upon that and other "useful evidence," which he would not discuss, Oates said his department is confident the girl, who would have turned 7 Wednesday, is dead.
"I'm here tonight to state emphatically that this is a homicide investigation," Oates said outside police headquarters. "Nothing that has been brought forward . . . by Aaron Thompson or Shely Lowe changes our position."
Oates also urged Thompson, the girl's father, and Lowe, his girlfriend, to cooperate with detectives instead of making their case in the media that Aaroné is alive and police aren't doing enough to find her.
"I'm a parent," said Oates, who has two school-aged daughters. "It's not logical that if my daughter was missing that I wouldn't cooperate with police. If they truly care, as they claim to about Aaroné, they need to come talk to us. They hold the key."
The couple's interview with reporters was arranged by Sam Riddle, who took on the role of family spokesperson shortly after Thompson reported Aaroné missing.
Riddle arranged for Denver attorney Leta Holden to represent Lowe, but just hours before Oates' news conference, Holden called one of her own to announce she was withdrawing from the case.
After declaring the case a homicide investigation, detectives focused their search on the East Kepner Place house, including using dogs that can detect decomposing bodies and digging up portions of the backyard.
Oates said there was no reason for the department to continue the missing person search when they had enough information to believe the girl had been killed months earlier.
"We have found not a single, credible person who has seen Aaroné in approximately 18 months," he said. "I'm a parent; many of you are parents. . . . When my children were 7 years old, by that point in their lives, there were hundreds of people who saw them, if not daily, then on a regular basis."
The couple's seven other children - including a week-old baby girl - and Lowe's teenage brother, have since been taken away from them, and placed into protective custody with Arapahoe County Human Services.
Holden was working with Lowe on trying to get the children back or placed with relatives. Another custody hearing is set for Thursday, but Holden was unsure exactly who would represent Lowe in that proceeding.
Down the street from the house where Aaroné reportedly lived, a prayer vigil was held to call on the community to renew the search for her.
Vigil organizer Alvertis Simmons said authorities would still be looking for the young girl if she were rich and white instead of poor and black.
"If she was blonde, blue-eyed, she'd be on the front of every national publication," Simmons said. "There isn't even a reward out for this baby."
olveraj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-5113
In this case, I believe it is not a matter of race, but of the "identity" formula. Not many people can say "this could happen to me", because it is hard to understand a family with more than seven children, especially one that doesn't know where some of its progeny are.
Wallace Richards has been missing in California since the 10th of November, 2005. I had mentioned Wallace in a previous entry, and have since been contacted by his girlfriend, Sabrina, and his family and friends are working hard to help find him.
According to her statements, the local television media has not given as much coverage of his disappearance as the family would like to see. In this video clip, shown several weeks ago, the family and friends were interviewed. They obviously love him very much.
I urge you to contact them at KTVU and encourage them, politely, to give him and his family the attention they deserve. There is no reason he should not receive the very best help from the media in locating him.
You can find more information about Wallace at WallaceRichards.com and you can read about more missing persons who are missed and loved at ProjectJason.org, an organization founded to help families who have missing loved ones.
The founder of Project Jason also has a blog at Voice4theMissing. She hs shared wonderful stories of hope such as the story of Erik Buran on her blog.
Finally, there is also information about Wallace at MissingAdults.com
If you have any information about Wallace, aka "Little Wallace", please contact Berkeley Police at 981-5900 or e-mail the department at police@ci.berkeley.ca.us. Information may be provided anonymously.
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