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Three Teen Girls, All Murdered, And No Justice: The Lack Of Media Exposure For A Growing Epidemic Of Violence Toward Black Female Youth In Inner City America

From many communities in our nation from places such as New York, Baltimore, and Stone Mountain the tragic stories of young girls of color falling to violent street crime paints a horrific trend. The scenes are all too familiar, with Coroners carrying away body bags of young black girls who were senselessly murdered at the hands of heartless killers. I’ve covered many of their stories right here on my Blog, but three of the young girls cases (Vanessa Marie Malone, Phylicia Simone Barnes, and Chanel Petro-Nixon) in particular continue to haunt me because their killers have never been brought to justice. Though their cases occurred in separate towns, there are characteristics of these kids which cannot be ignored. All were described by family and friends who knew them as loving, cheerful, popular among their peers, and none of them had ever had any trouble with the law. Considering their cases from a broader perspective it seems that the murders were all isolated incidences within their respective communities. These murders send an alarming pattern which depicts a scary reality that woman are no longer immune from the violence that continue to plague our streets in this country. Some women advocacy groups have raise concern that women of color who fall to violent crime lack exposure from Main Stream Media, and that police investigate their cases differently in comparison to their white counter parts similarly situated in violent crime. The case of Natalie Holloway, who was the Alabama teen who went missing while on a school class trip in Bermuda, who has never been found is a murder mystery that drew a broad international Media Blitz. In murder cases involving black females their cases rarely if ever reach the heights of even just National News Coverage, which leaves many of their families grief-stricken, and many of their cases having never been solved by police agencies charge with investigating their murders. Recently in Stone Mountain, Georgia the murder of a beautiful and popular 18-year-old girl name Vanessa Honey” Malone was slain in a hail of gunfire as she walked in on an alleged armed robbery in progress while visiting friends. Malone’s friends who survived the ordeal gave a suspicious account of the events which led to the youth’s murder to police. Her story has gained momentum in Social Media, but only local News Media has covered the tragic case so far. Little detail has surfaced about what actually went on the night Malone was killed, but it seems that authorities are treating her case as a routine drug-related slaying. Police say they are looking for a group on 3 to 6 African-American males as suspects in her case, and another person that Malone’s friends identified as “Mercy” as a person of interest in the case. Youth within the Stone Mountain community have taken unprecedented measures by organizing demonstrations, handing out flyers detailing her case, and soliciting T-shirts in a quest for justice in the teen’s killing. In Atlanta, the parents of the late Monroe, North Carolina honors student Phylicia Barnes are still waiting on justice in another senseless and tragic murder case that led to the very pretty teen’s body being discovered nude in a Northern Maryland river. The Barnes teen had gone to Baltimore, Maryland to visit with half-siblings over the 2010 Christmas Holiday. Barnes murder case did draw some National media attention after her murder was aired on Nancy Grace, but Baltimore City police advocated for news coverage in the Barnes case while describing her murder “as Baltimore’s Natalie Holloway”. The Barnes case resulted in searches by volunteers from the public, the Maryland based Guardian Angels, and various law enforcement agencies. Strangely, two additional bodies were discovered as a result of the searches conducted for the Barnes youth before she was discovered nude floating in a river. Barnes’s murder just like Malone’s initially began with sketchy details. Barnes (16) was reportedly left alone with males on the day that she disappeared, drawing criticism from the public best described by one followers’s remarks ” a pretty teenage girl left alone with males unrelated to her is not good, not good at all”, and has become a grueling, painstaking, and enduring process that has spanned nearly two years. During the Barnes murder investigation F.B.I. authorities obtained search warrants for social media accounts of Barnes, her sister Deena Barnes, Deena Barne’s boyfriend Michael Johnson, and other males known to have frequented the apartment where the teen was staying while visiting Baltimore. It has since since been reported that the federal warrants were obtained related to nude images of the Barnes youth streaking nude in and outside of Deena Barne’s Northwest Baltimore apartment with Michael Johnson and other males. The shocking facts revealed in the images discovered on Johnson’s cellphone drew a response from the Barnes teen’ mother Janice Mustafa, who had reported in a People’s Champion interview that a child who was friend s with Barnes had told her Phylicia admitted having been allowed to drink alcohol (vodka), and smoke marijuana during several visits to Baltimore. Mustafa told TPC that her daughter was a very modest person who felt uncomfortable undress even in front of her. Mustafa said, “If my daughter is in any of the pictures she must have been completely out of it on something”. The circumstances related to the Barnes murder has resulted in an arrest of Michael Johnson, but many observers speculate that the State’s case against Johnson is highly circumstantial and a conviction is not guaranteed. The State alleges that Johnson asphyxiated the Barnes youth before carrying her body out of Deena Barnes apartment in a 40 gallon container. Police say a witness observed Johnson struggling to carry a large contain in the hallway of the building, moving step by step and sweating profusely. The suspected container has never been found and the state hasn’t publicly established a motive for the youths killing. Police have reported that Johnson (28 at the time) exchanged over 500 text messages with the Barnes teen from June to September of 2010. The Barnes teen had also told an older sibling that Johnson made her feel uncomfortable. The Barnes case was postponed until January while Johnson remains in jail. The state overwhelmed Johnson’s legal team with over 10’s of thousands of discovery documents detailing their case against Johnson. Mean while, The Mustafa family have had to simply wait on justice while the tragic murder of their daughter runs it’s course through the Maryland Judicial process. The Barnes case is the only of the three murders highlighted in this article with potential of having real justice obtained in the senseless murder of a promising teen girl, but as previously mentioned it’s not etched in stone that a conviction will be obtained. However, even with the bizarre sequence of events which led to an arrest in the Barnes murder, National Media Coverage was absent. Lastly, the murder of Chanel Petro-Nixon who was a straight A student has gone unsolved for over 6 years. The pretty honors teen who was known to be an advent church goer, and often spent time in the library went missing on Father’s Day back in June of 2006. The Nixon youth left her home that day to go fill out a job application at a local Applebees, and was missing for four days. A local sanitation crew discovered a unusually heavy load of garbage on a Brooklyn, New York street corner and summoned police. Police discovered the body of a teen girl inside the garbage bag that was later identified as the pretty Petro-Nixon teen. Nancy Grace also covered the Petro-Nixon murder, but her case nor the Barnes case drew an extended media blitz like the Holloway murder did which lasted for years. Cops say leads were minimal in the Nixon killing with almost no credible information from the public. Cops had hoped that Nixons pink & white Retro Air Jordan Nike sneakers and her missing cellphone would aid in solving the youth’s murder. Six years later, and after assistance from the Reverend Al Sharpton, and several America’s Most Wanted broadcast spearheaded by John Lieberman, the Petro-Nixon murder remains unsolved. Years have now gone by without any media coverage, and the case appears to have been dumped into the laps of the teens family to continue the quest for justice in her murder. In all three of these  murder cases the youths were slain as if their lives meant nothing. There should be a growing concern for the entire African-American community that our female children are at a greater risk to violence than they have ever been, and signifying that  black girls could be a victim at any time no matter where they are within the community. The lack of media coverage coupled with seemingly weak investigations by police in many of these murders, we must adopt a proactive stance as a standard to safeguard the lives of our precious daughters. More accountability must be implemented establishing constant communication of their whereabouts when they are away from home and their families. There is a stigma circulating that the lack of Media is directly related to the African-American communities inability to curtail black on black violence themselves. When our daughters fall senselessly to violence it’s with out question our responsibility to end this trend resulting in the tragic ending of not just black female youth, but females everywhere.

 

 

The People’s Champion

I’m David Adams

David Adams

David B. Adams grew up in the Highlandtown section of Baltimore's southeast district and is his parent's youngest child. He experienced pervasive poverty, which taught him humility and compassion for the plight of others. His exposure to violence and gritty urban life were some of his early lessons of life's many hardships. Adams credits the upheavals he endured during his conformity with helping to shape the foundation of his outlook and perspectives on society. With a steadfast commitment to giving voice to the voiceless, Adams is a journalist, crime writer, and blogger renowned for tireless investigative journalism and advocacy on behalf of vulnerable populations. As founder and administrator of The People's Champion, Adams sheds light on critical social issues, championing the rights of: - Homeless individuals - Victims of violent crime and their families - Wrongfully convicted individuals - Missing and exploited children; Additionally, he is a seasoned investigative reporter, Adams has earned recognition for relentless pursuit of truth and justice. With a strong national and global focus, on inspiring meaningful change and crucial conversations impacting all of humanity.

More Posts - Website

Follow Me:
TwitterFacebookLinkedInGoogle Plus

From many communities in our nation from places such as New York, Baltimore, and Stone Mountain the tragic stories of young girls of color falling to violent street crime paints a horrific trend. The scenes are all too familiar, with Coroners carrying away body bags of young black girls who were senselessly murdered at the hands of heartless killers. I’ve covered many of their stories right here on my Blog, but three of the young girls cases (Vanessa Marie Malone, Phylicia Simone Barnes, and Chanel Petro-Nixon) in particular continue to haunt me because their killers have never been brought to justice. Though their cases occurred in separate towns, there are characteristics of these kids which cannot be ignored. All were described by family and friends who knew them as loving, cheerful, popular among their peers, and none of them had ever had any trouble with the law. Considering their cases from a broader perspective it seems that the murders were all isolated incidences within their respective communities. These murders send an alarming pattern which depicts a scary reality that woman are no longer immune from the violence that continue to plague our streets in this country. Some women advocacy groups have raise concern that women of color who fall to violent crime lack exposure from Main Stream Media, and that police investigate their cases differently in comparison to their white counter parts similarly situated in violent crime. The case of Natalie Holloway, who was the Alabama teen who went missing while on a school class trip in Bermuda, who has never been found is a murder mystery that drew a broad international Media Blitz. In murder cases involving black females their cases rarely if ever reach the heights of even just National News Coverage, which leaves many of their families grief-stricken, and many of their cases having never been solved by police agencies charge with investigating their murders. Recently in Stone Mountain, Georgia the murder of a beautiful and popular 18-year-old girl name Vanessa Honey” Malone was slain in a hail of gunfire as she walked in on an alleged armed robbery in progress while visiting friends. Malone’s friends who survived the ordeal gave a suspicious account of the events which led to the youth’s murder to police. Her story has gained momentum in Social Media, but only local News Media has covered the tragic case so far. Little detail has surfaced about what actually went on the night Malone was killed, but it seems that authorities are treating her case as a routine drug-related slaying. Police say they are looking for a group on 3 to 6 African-American males as suspects in her case, and another person that Malone’s friends identified as “Mercy” as a person of interest in the case. Youth within the Stone Mountain community have taken unprecedented measures by organizing demonstrations, handing out flyers detailing her case, and soliciting T-shirts in a quest for justice in the teen’s killing. In Atlanta, the parents of the late Monroe, North Carolina honors student Phylicia Barnes are still waiting on justice in another senseless and tragic murder case that led to the very pretty teen’s body being discovered nude in a Northern Maryland river. The Barnes teen had gone to Baltimore, Maryland to visit with half-siblings over the 2010 Christmas Holiday. Barnes murder case did draw some National media attention after her murder was aired on Nancy Grace, but Baltimore City police advocated for news coverage in the Barnes case while describing her murder “as Baltimore’s Natalie Holloway”. The Barnes case resulted in searches by volunteers from the public, the Maryland based Guardian Angels, and various law enforcement agencies. Strangely, two additional bodies were discovered as a result of the searches conducted for the Barnes youth before she was discovered nude floating in a river. Barnes’s murder just like Malone’s initially began with sketchy details. Barnes (16) was reportedly left alone with males on the day that she disappeared, drawing criticism from the public best described by one followers’s remarks ” a pretty teenage girl left alone with males unrelated to her is not good, not good at all”, and has become a grueling, painstaking, and enduring process that has spanned nearly two years. During the Barnes murder investigation F.B.I. authorities obtained search warrants for social media accounts of Barnes, her sister Deena Barnes, Deena Barne’s boyfriend Michael Johnson, and other males known to have frequented the apartment where the teen was staying while visiting Baltimore. It has since since been reported that the federal warrants were obtained related to nude images of the Barnes youth streaking nude in and outside of Deena Barne’s Northwest Baltimore apartment with Michael Johnson and other males. The shocking facts revealed in the images discovered on Johnson’s cellphone drew a response from the Barnes teen’ mother Janice Mustafa, who had reported in a People’s Champion interview that a child who was friend s with Barnes had told her Phylicia admitted having been allowed to drink alcohol (vodka), and smoke marijuana during several visits to Baltimore. Mustafa told TPC that her daughter was a very modest person who felt uncomfortable undress even in front of her. Mustafa said, “If my daughter is in any of the pictures she must have been completely out of it on something”. The circumstances related to the Barnes murder has resulted in an arrest of Michael Johnson, but many observers speculate that the State’s case against Johnson is highly circumstantial and a conviction is not guaranteed. The State alleges that Johnson asphyxiated the Barnes youth before carrying her body out of Deena Barnes apartment in a 40 gallon container. Police say a witness observed Johnson struggling to carry a large contain in the hallway of the building, moving step by step and sweating profusely. The suspected container has never been found and the state hasn’t publicly established a motive for the youths killing. Police have reported that Johnson (28 at the time) exchanged over 500 text messages with the Barnes teen from June to September of 2010. The Barnes teen had also told an older sibling that Johnson made her feel uncomfortable. The Barnes case was postponed until January while Johnson remains in jail. The state overwhelmed Johnson’s legal team with over 10’s of thousands of discovery documents detailing their case against Johnson. Mean while, The Mustafa family have had to simply wait on justice while the tragic murder of their daughter runs it’s course through the Maryland Judicial process. The Barnes case is the only of the three murders highlighted in this article with potential of having real justice obtained in the senseless murder of a promising teen girl, but as previously mentioned it’s not etched in stone that a conviction will be obtained. However, even with the bizarre sequence of events which led to an arrest in the Barnes murder, National Media Coverage was absent. Lastly, the murder of Chanel Petro-Nixon who was a straight A student has gone unsolved for over 6 years. The pretty honors teen who was known to be an advent church goer, and often spent time in the library went missing on Father’s Day back in June of 2006. The Nixon youth left her home that day to go fill out a job application at a local Applebees, and was missing for four days. A local sanitation crew discovered a unusually heavy load of garbage on a Brooklyn, New York street corner and summoned police. Police discovered the body of a teen girl inside the garbage bag that was later identified as the pretty Petro-Nixon teen. Nancy Grace also covered the Petro-Nixon murder, but her case nor the Barnes case drew an extended media blitz like the Holloway murder did which lasted for years. Cops say leads were minimal in the Nixon killing with almost no credible information from the public. Cops had hoped that Nixons pink & white Retro Air Jordan Nike sneakers and her missing cellphone would aid in solving the youth’s murder. Six years later, and after assistance from the Reverend Al Sharpton, and several America’s Most Wanted broadcast spearheaded by John Lieberman, the Petro-Nixon murder remains unsolved. Years have now gone by without any media coverage, and the case appears to have been dumped into the laps of the teens family to continue the quest for justice in her murder. In all three of these  murder cases the youths were slain as if their lives meant nothing. There should be a growing concern for the entire African-American community that our female children are at a greater risk to violence than they have ever been, and signifying that  black girls could be a victim at any time no matter where they are within the community. The lack of media coverage coupled with seemingly weak investigations by police in many of these murders, we must adopt a proactive stance as a standard to safeguard the lives of our precious daughters. More accountability must be implemented establishing constant communication of their whereabouts when they are away from home and their families. There is a stigma circulating that the lack of Media is directly related to the African-American communities inability to curtail black on black violence themselves. When our daughters fall senselessly to violence it’s with out question our responsibility to end this trend resulting in the tragic ending of not just black female youth, but females everywhere.

 

 

The People’s Champion

I’m David Adams

David Adams

David B. Adams grew up in the Highlandtown section of Baltimore's southeast district and is his parent's youngest child. He experienced pervasive poverty, which taught him humility and compassion for the plight of others. His exposure to violence and gritty urban life were some of his early lessons of life's many hardships. Adams credits the upheavals he endured during his conformity with helping to shape the foundation of his outlook and perspectives on society. With a steadfast commitment to giving voice to the voiceless, Adams is a journalist, crime writer, and blogger renowned for tireless investigative journalism and advocacy on behalf of vulnerable populations. As founder and administrator of The People's Champion, Adams sheds light on critical social issues, championing the rights of: - Homeless individuals - Victims of violent crime and their families - Wrongfully convicted individuals - Missing and exploited children; Additionally, he is a seasoned investigative reporter, Adams has earned recognition for relentless pursuit of truth and justice. With a strong national and global focus, on inspiring meaningful change and crucial conversations impacting all of humanity.

More Posts - Website

Follow Me:
TwitterFacebookLinkedInGoogle Plus

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