#murder case

Milana Li was only 13 years-old when she was found deceased near her family’s Beaverton, Oregon home on May 10th, 2022.The young girl was last seen alive on May 8th. Milana left her home around 4:00 PM that afternoon to take a walk along the Westside Regional Trail to Barrows Park. Milana regularly walked this route and was typically only gone for half an hour to an hour. When she did not return for her 8:00 PM curfew, her family members began to worry. Milana was reported missing the following day.

Milana and her family are originally from Kazakhstan. The family moved to Beaverton a few years before Milana’s untimely death. Milana’s mother lives full time in Beaverton with their children, while Milana’s father travels back and forth between Beaverton and Kazakhstan, where he runs a business. Members of the community in Beaverton described Milana and a quiet and sweet young girl. When she was first reported missing, police classified her as a runaway-despite the fact that she has no history of such behavior.

Shortly after 2:00 PM on May 10th, police received a call about “suspicious circumstances” in a small stream at Westside Linear Park. When officers responded the scene, they found the body of a young girl in the water. A short time later, the young girl was identified as Milana Li.

An autopsy determined that Milana died by homicide. At this time, investigators have declined to comment on her exact cause of death. Very little other information about the investigation has been revealed. Police are now searching for Milana’s killer. Though an arrest has not yet been made, police maintain that they do not believe there is a threat to the community at this time.

If you have any information that could lead to an arrest of Milana’s killer, please contact Beaverton authorities at 503-629-0111.

truecrimecrystals:

Tiara Lott was about to begin a new chapter in her life during January 2021. The then-22-year-old lived in Buffalo, New York, and she had just gotten a new job in the field of IT. Tiara was looking forward to beginning this new job, but before she could, she disappeared. About two weeks later, Tiara’s body was found alongside train tracks on Wex Avenue. She had been murdered.

Before her disappearance, Tiara had been spending a lot of time with her 27-year-old boyfriend, Andre Whigham. Tiara’s loved ones were worried about this relationship, especially since Tiara had several bruises on her face during her final video chat with one of her friends. That call took place on January 29th, 2021, and during the call her friend asked Tiara for her location so she could send an Uber to go pick her up. The video chat call was disconnected after that. A short time later, Tiara sent a text message to several loved ones that said, “God forbid, if anything happens to me, that I love y'all and tell everybody.”

After receiving that worrisome message, Tiara’s family members went to the Buffalo Police. Both investigators and family members spent the next two weeks searching for her. Shortly after notifying police, Tiara’s loved ones went to a house on Gold Street where they believed Tiara was last seen. There, they found several of Tiara’s personal items, including her clothes, shoes, and ID card. Then, on February 13th, 2021, police found Tiara’s body approximately two miles away on Wex Avenue. Investigators have not revealed Tiara’s exact cause of death, but her manner of death has been labeled as a homicide.

Andre Whigham is considered a person-of-interest in Tiara’s case. Police are unaware of his whereabouts at this time. Various reports state that he has connections to both North Carolina and Ohio. Whigham is described as a Black male with several neck tattoos. He is approximately 5'9" and 210 lbs. It is believed that he is armed and dangerous. Authorities pleading for anyone with knowledge of his whereabouts to come forward.

If you have any information on Whigham’s whereabouts, or any other information that could help solve Tiara’s case, please contact the US Marshal service line at 1-800-336-0102.

UPDATE (May 2022): Andre Whigham has turned himself in.

Once in custody, Whigham was charged with the second degree murder of Tiara Lott. Prosecutors believe that he strangled Tiara to death inside an apartment on Gold Street. After disposing of Tiara’s body, he fled from the area.

Whigham is being held without bail. He faces 25 years to life in prison.

truecrimecrystals:

Anesha Murnane vanished under suspicious circumstances on October 17th, 2019.The 38-year-old woman lived at MainTree Apartments in Homer, Alaska at the time of her disappearance. MainTree is a supported living facility that provides housing to individuals with disabilities and beneficiaries of the Alaska Mental Health Trust. Anesha was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and was considered a dependent adult, but according to her family members, she was stabilized and doing well at the time she vanished.

Anesha was last seen leaving the MainTree apartments shortly after noon on October 17th. Surveillance cameras captured her leaving the building at 12:13 PM. Anesha had a scheduled 1:00 PM appointment at the SVT Health & Wellness clinic on east End Road, and it is presumed that she was walking to that appointment when she left her apartment. Unfortunately, Anesha never made it to her appointment and has never been seen or heard from again.

After Anesha was reported missing, police sent search dogs along the route she would have taken to her appointment. Anesha’s scent was tracked throughout the route as expected, but the scent trail ended in front of Pioneer Avenue area near Thai Cosmic Kitchen. Due to this, investigators believe that Anesha was picked up in a car at this location.

Anesha’s parents have believed that their daughter was abducted since the beginning of the investigation. She has not accessed her cell phone or bank accounts since her disappearance. Anesha also had applied for several jobs before she vanished, and she also had planned trips to Oregon and Mexico. Her plane tickets for both trips were never used.

In June 2021, nearly two years after Anesha vanished, a certificate of presumed death was issued. Under Alaskan law, a person missing for over five years is considered presumed deceased–but families can file a petition for the presumed death certificate before that under certain circumstances. A jury of six people in Homer listened to testimony from detectives, social workers, and from Anesha’s parents. Afterwards, the jury ruled that Anesha is presumed deceased–and that she was likely killed by homicide.

Although the ruling was bittersweet, Anesha’s mother also stated that the ruling validated her belief that Anesha was abducted by someone she knew and then killed. Despite this belief, detectives stated that they currently do not have any suspects in the case. Homer Police are still seeking information about Anesha’s disappearance.

If you have any information that could help the investigation, please contact the Homer Police Department at 907-235-3150 or the Alaska State Troopers at 907-269-5511.

UPDATE (May 2022):

An arrest has been made in Anesha’s case.

Kirby Calderwood (32) has been arrested and charged with first degree murder, second degree murder, kidnapping, and tampering with physical evidence. Calderwood reportedly knew Anesha because he briefly worked at the Main Tree Apartments, where Anesha lived, back in 2018. Calderwood has a history of violent behavior. He has been accused of sexual assault by women he previously dated, and he also reportedly has a history of harming animals ever since he was a child.

Investigators closed in on Calderwood as their prime suspect after a tipster reported that Calderwood admitted to being responsible for Anesha’s disappearance. The tipster told authorities that on the day of Anesha’s disappearance, Calderwood said he prepped the crawlspace at an empty home before leaving in his car to search for a victim. At some point, he spotted Anesha and offered her a ride. She accepted, and Calderwood ended up bringing her to the empty home. Once there, Calderwood reportedly tortured Anesha before killing her and then disposing of her body in a dumpster.

The tipster also told police that Calderwood kept Anesha’s Timex brand watch. When authorities went to Calderwood’s home in Odgen, Utah, they found the watch in question. Calderwood was taken into custody in Utah but will face charges in Alaska.

Although Anesha has already been declared deceased, her body has still not been found.

Taylore Jones was murdered inside her New Orleans, Louisiana home during the early morning hours of December 21st, 2021. The 26-year-old woman was living in an apartment in the Bywater neighborhood at the time of her death. The New Orleans Police Department responded to a call shortly after 5:00 AM about a woman who had been stabbed in the 700 Block of Lesseps Street. When officers arrived at the apartment, they found Taylore suffering from multiple stab wounds. She was transported to a nearby hospital, where she passed shortly thereafter.

Taylore had lived in New Orleans for less than a year before her untimely death. She moved there in March 2021. According to friends, Taylore was attracted to the music scene in New Orleans. She also loved being able to travel around town on her skateboard. In fact, just hours before she was killed, Taylore was seen riding her skateboard home from her job at Café Negril.

A few months after Taylore’s murder, police released surveillance footage of the potential suspect. In the footage, a person wearing all black is seen walking towards Taylore’s apartment. Around 30 minutes later, the same individual is seen running away from the apartment. Police believe Taylore was killed within that 30-minute window.

A motive for Taylore’s murder is unclear. Reports state that nothing was stolen from Taylore’s apartment, so a robbery has been ruled out. Police have yet to identify the person in the surveillance footage, and they are hoping that somebody from the public will recognize this individual. Detectives note that the person appeared to have a distinct belt buckle and keychain that is visible in the footage.

There is a monetary reward available for any information that could lead to the arrest of Taylore’s killer. If you recognize the person in the footage, or if you have any other information that could help the investigation, please contact the NOPD at (504) 658-6020.

Aszia Grimes was only 25 years-old when she was found murdered in Rochester, New York on September 12th, 2020. The young woman had been reported missing three days earlier. Aszia’s body was found by a passerby in a vacant lot on Orchard Street, close to her home in the Lyell Avenue neighborhood. Investigators quickly determined that her death was a homicide.

During the early stages of the investigation, Capt. Frank Umbrino of the Rochester Police stated that “police will not be releasing [Aszia’s] cause of death to protect the integrity of the investigation.” However,a post on Aszia’s case on rochesterunsolved.com states that Aszia was the victim of an assault that resulted in her death. Capt. Umbrino also said that the location where Aszia’s body was found is an area that is “not normally traveled.” Police have declined to comment on whether or not they believe Aszia was murdered in the spot where her body was found.

Aszia reportedly struggled with developmental disabilities since birth. At the time of her death, Aszia also was struggling with drug addiction. Despite this, Aszia was not known to have any enemies or conflicts with others. Members of the community described her as a helpful neighbor and a great friend. Still, the Lyell Avenue neighborhood where Aszia lived is not unfamiliar with violence. Aszia’s murder was the seventh murder that the city had experienced over a span of three weeks.

Aszia’s loved ones have vowed to never give up on finding Aszia’s killer. They also hope that Aszia’s death will help raise awareness on the ongoing issues of drug abuse and violence in Rochester. Aszia’s friend Maritza Santiago told reporters that she believes Aszia might still be alive if there were more resources and helpful services available to people struggling with addiction. Police have not commented on whether or not they believe Aszia’s drug use played a role in her murder, but it appears that is has not been ruled out.

Aszia’s mother Debi Tellier stated that she believes Aszia’s murder remains unsolved because there is an abundance of other unsolved murders in the area that have overwhelmed investigators. During a 2021 march to raise awareness on Aszia’s murder, Debi told reporters, “the reason they haven’t been able to find the person who killed my daughter and left her for dead in an empty lot is because they’re too busy being worried about all the other murders going on and we want it to stop.”

Anyone with information that could lead to the arrest of Aszia’s killer is asked to contact the Rochester Police Major Crimes Unit at 585-428-7157.

Blake Chappell’s life was headed in a positive direction during the fall of 2011. The then-17-year-old was adjusting to life in a new town after his family moved to Newnan, Georgia earlier that year. Previously, Blake and his mother Melissa lived in Clayton County. Melissa decided to move Newnan after Blake got into a physical altercation with the stepfather of his ex-girlfriend. The incident was tough on Blake, but he was doing seemingly well in Newnan. He quickly made new friends and started dating a new girlfriend. Unfortunately, before Blake’s life could continue to flourish, he was brutally murdered. His murder remains unsolved today.

Blake was last seen alive during the early morning hours of October 16th, 2011. On the evening of October 15th, Blake attended his high school homecoming dance with his girlfriend, Rion. Blake reportedly had a great time at the dance–he called his mother afterwards to tell her that he had “the best night of his life.” Blake and Rion were picked up from the dance by Rion’s mother. The pair then went back to Rion’s house where they watched a movie. Around 11:30 PM, Rion’s mother drove Blake to his friend Austin’s house, where he planned to spend the night.

At some point between 2:00 and 3:00 AM, Blake snuck out of Austin’s house and walked 3 miles back to Rion’s house. He arrived there around 4:30 AM and snuck in through Rion’s bedroom window. About half an hour later, one of Rion’s relatives caught Blake and Rion together. Knowing he was not supposed to be there, Blake quickly left the residence and began walking back toward Austin’s house.

During his walk, Blake texted with Rion several times. Around 5:30 AM, he sent her a message saying he was stopped by a police officer who asked where he was going. He sent one final text a few minutes later before ceasing all communication. Blake never arrived back at Austin’s house and was never heard from again. Blake’s mother Melissa was alerted about her son’s disappearance around 11:00 AM, after Austin contacted her and said that Blake had left his house and never returned. Melissa reported Blake missing very shortly thereafter.

Extensive searches for Blake ended unsuccessfully. Then, over two months later, passersby in Summer Grove spotted human remains in a local creek near East Newnan. Police were called, and the human remains were later identified as that of Blake Chappell. He died from a gunshot wound to the head.

After the discovery of Blake’s remains, the case shifted to a homicide investigation.

[read more]

truecrimecrystals:

Some of the final known photographs of 17 year-old Brittanee Drexel (pictured in the middle and on the left) with her friends in Myrtle Beach, SC.

Brittanee is originally from Rochester, NY and was taking a trip with some new friends to Myrtle Beach for spring break in April of 2009.Brittanee’s mother had not granted her permission to go on this trip—she was concerned because these friends were a few years older than Brittanee and Brittanee did not know them very well yet. Still, Brittanee was determined to go and told her mother that she was spending a few nights at a friends house in Rochester. Instead, she went to Myrtle Beach.

The trip did not go as planned for Brittanee. According to her boyfriend, John Grieco, Brittanee wasn’t getting along very well with the girls on the trip. On April 25th, Brittanee decided to walk to her friend Peter Brozowitz’s hotel room at Blue Water Resort. Peter was an acquaintance of Brittanee’s from NY, and she was getting along much better with him than she was with the girls with whom she was staying. 

Brittanee walked about a mile from her hotel to the Blue Water Resort—however, shortly after arriving, one of the girls texted Brittanee and demanded that she come back to their hotel to return a pair of shorts she had borrowed. Surveillance footage shows Brittanee leaving the Blue Water Resort at 8:48pm. She texted John as she traveled, expressing how she was annoyed about having to walk back to the hotel. At one point, Brittanee stopped replying. John grew concerned, as they had been constantly texting throughout the trip and it was unusual for Brittanee to stop replying without ending the conversation. John continued to try to get ahold of her, warning that he was going to call her mom if she did not reply. Hours passed without hearing from Brittanee, and John finally broke down and called Brittanee’s mother, Dawn. Dawn was able to contact the girls Brittanee had traveled with and they were unable to locate her as well. Dawn then contacted Myrtle Beach authorities to report Brittanee missing.

[read more]

UPDATE (May 2022):  

Brittanee’s remains have been found AND an arrest has finally been made.

The Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office announced on May 16th that they have arrested a man named Raymond Moody (62). He is charged with kidnapping, rape, and murder in relation to Brittanee’s case.

Moody is a registered sex offender, and he was named a person of interest in Brittanee’s case back in 2012. Back then, investigators searched a hotel room he stayed in at the time of Brittanee’s disappearance. It was never disclosed if they found any evidence at that time, but investigators did say that they did not have enough evidence to formally label him as a suspect.

Investigators turned their attention away from Moody in 2016, after the FBI announced that they believed Brittanee had been kidnapped and held hostage in McClellanville by a group of people associated with Timothy Taylor. However, Taylor was only 16 years-old at the time Brittanee went missing. Jailhouse informants told investigators that they saw Brittanee at Taylor’s residence back in April 2009. Taylor has adamantly denied any involvement in Brittanee’s disappearance and at this time, it appears that he is no longer a suspect.

It is unclear what led investigators back to Moody, but they were able to search property that belongs to him during early May. During their search, they found human remains. Dental records have confirmed that those remains belong to Brittanee Drexel.

Moody’s arrest warrant states that Moody strangled Brittanee to death on the night she was kidnapped. It is believed she was buried the next day.

News about Brittanee’s case is currently unfolding. Updates will be provided as they come.

Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Barraza was murdered in the driveway of her Tomball, Texas home on January 25th, 2019. The 29-year-old woman was preparing for a garage sale on the morning of her murder. Elizabeth was holding this garage sale in hopes of making some money to help fund a five-year anniversary trip to Florida with her husband, Sergio. She put together the sale on short notice, so very few people were aware it was happening.

Sergio left for work just minutes before Elizabeth was killed. He reportedly left the home around 6:48 AM, as Elizabeth was setting up for the garage sale. Shortly after Sergio left, a black Nissan Frontier Pro-4X pulled up near the Barraza’s driveway. The driver of the car then exited the vehicle and approached Elizabeth. Neighbors reportedly heard Elizabeth say “good morning” to this person before the person pulled out a gun and shot Elizabeth four times at point-blank range. The suspect then ran back to the Nissan, which was still running, and drove off.

Elizabeth was rushed to the Memorial Hermann Hospital, where she died a few hours later. Police then immediately began to investigate her murder. Elizabeth loved ones have struggled to find a motive for her killing. She is described as a kind young woman who loved Star Wars and Harry Potter. Elizabeth reportedly had no known enemies or any known issues with others.

Throughout the investigation, detectives learned that Elizabeth’s murder was caught on surveillance footage from a resident’s security camera. The footage shows a person driving a Nissan Frontier Pro-4X around the street more than once before finally pulling up near the Barraza’s driveway after Sergio left the house. This suggests that the assailant was waiting for Sergio to leave before approaching Elizabeth. The footage then shows the suspect walking up to Elizabeth. The two briefly spoke before the suspect lifted the gun and shot Elizabeth four times–three times in the chest and once in the head. The suspect then ran back to the car and drove away. However, the surveillance footage shows the vehicle returning to the scene just a few minutes later–seemingly to confirm that Elizabeth was, in fact, dead.

Despite having footage of the suspect, police have yet to make an arrest in Elizabeth’s case. While there have reportedly been several leads, police still have not publicly named a suspect or person-of-interest. Additionally, there is unfortunately a lack of additional physical evidence that might lead to a suspect. Police were unable to find any shell casings on the scene, making it very difficult for them to identify the gun that was used to kill Elizabeth.

The low quality of the surveillance footage has made it difficult for investigators to get a clear picture of the suspect. Some believe the stature and gait of the suspect resembles a woman, but this has not been confirmed. Some believe that the suspect was wearing a wig as a disguise.

Elizabeth’s parents are currently offering $50,000 for anyone with information that leads to the arrest of Elizabeth’s killer. If you have any information that could help the investigation, please call 713-222-TIPS (8477).

truecrimecrystals:

Milana Li was only 13 years-old when she was found deceased near her family’s Beaverton, Oregon home on May 10th, 2022.The young girl was last seen alive on May 8th. Milana left her home around 4:00 PM that afternoon to take a walk along the Westside Regional Trail to Barrows Park. Milana regularly walked this route and was typically only gone for half an hour to an hour. When she did not return for her 8:00 PM curfew, her family members began to worry. Milana was reported missing the following day.

Milana and her family are originally from Kazakhstan. The family moved to Beaverton a few years before Milana’s untimely death. Milana’s mother lives full time in Beaverton with their children, while Milana’s father travels back and forth between Beaverton and Kazakhstan, where he runs a business. Members of the community in Beaverton described Milana and a quiet and sweet young girl. When she was first reported missing, police classified her as a runaway-despite the fact that she has no history of such behavior.

Shortly after 2:00 PM on May 10th, police received a call about “suspicious circumstances” in a small stream at Westside Linear Park. When officers responded the scene, they found the body of a young girl in the water. A short time later, the young girl was identified as Milana Li.

An autopsy determined that Milana died by homicide. At this time, investigators have declined to comment on her exact cause of death. Very little other information about the investigation has been revealed. Police are now searching for Milana’s killer. Though an arrest has not yet been made, police maintain that they do not believe there is a threat to the community at this time.

If you have any information that could lead to an arrest of Milana’s killer, please contact Beaverton authorities at 503-629-0111.

UPDATE (May 21, 2022): An arrest has been made in Milana’s case.

Daniel Ryan Gore has been arrested and charged with Milana’s murder. Gore is only 16 years-old, but prosecutors plan to try him as an adult. Gore has a criminal history dating back to 2020. He is currently facing second-degree theft, second-degree arson, and criminal mischief charges in an unrelated case.

In February 2022, Gore violated his probation. Prosecutors recommended that he be held in a juvenile detention center since he had already run away from two different shelters for minors with pending criminal charges. However, the judge ultimately decided to allow Gore to live with his father and stepmother in Salem. He ran away two weeks after this ruling.

In April 2022, Gore’s father told Salem authorities that he believed his son was in Beaverton. For unclear reasons, those authorities failed to notify the Beaverton police. Gore’s whereabouts remained unknown until his arrest for Milana’s murder.

At this time, police have not released information on how they tied Gore to Milana’s case. The prosecution has requested that the judge seal the probable cause affidavit. More details will likely be provided at a later date.