The family of a young Black father found dead a month after telling his mother he was being pursued and feared for his life is demanding justice and a federal investigation.
Rasheem Carter, 25, was reported missing on Oct. 2 after his mother said he’d called the police for assistance before contacting her, panicked that white men in three trucks were chasing him and hurling racial slurs, according to NBC News.
Authorities found his remains a month later, on Nov. 2, in a wooded area near Taylorsville, Mississippi. The Smith County Sheriff’s Department released a Facebook statement the following day, saying that Carter’s death was under investigation, but they had “no reason” to suspect foul play.
Rasheem Carter (above) was found dead on Nov. 2, a month after his mother last heard from him, near Taylorsville, Mississippi. His family is now demanding a federal investigation into his death. (Photo: Screenshot/YouTube.com/WJTV 12 News)
His family, however, isn’t convinced.
During a press conference on Monday, Carter’s family members and their attorney, civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, blasted the local government for stalling their investigation for over four months. They said they think he was the victim of a vicious hate crime.
“There is nothing natural about this,” Crump said, NBC reported. “It screams out for justice. What we have is a Mississippi lynching.”
Crump, who wants the Justice Department to take over the case and launch a civil rights investigation, released images of Carter’s skeletal remains on Monday. The attorney told reporters he believed somebody detached Carter’s head and spinal cord, which authorities allegedly discovered away from his body. Carter is also alleged to have been missing his front teeth from his top and bottom rows.
Chief Tommy Cox of the Laurel Police Department dispensed Carter’s missing person report and said they took up the case quickly after his family requested help. However, Cox said Carter didn’t contact his office before going missing. The Laurel police turned over its investigation to the Smith County Sheriff’s Department once it became apparent the case fell outside its jurisdiction.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, which supports the sheriff’s inquiry but is not actively investigating, said Carter’s autopsy was completed on Feb. 2, yet declined to provide additional details.
While Carter’s family believes the condition of his remains could be a sign of a physical attack, authorities allegedly claimed that wild animals might have ripped apart his body.
Yokena Anderson, a cousin of Carter’s mother, Tiffany Carter, implied that she wasn’t convinced by the authorities’ theory that “he went there and fell dead and the animals were feeding off him,” noting that he was in “so many different pieces.”
Carter’s mother contended that during their final phone calls, her son was clear about the threats he faced, was not on drugs or intoxicated, and had no mental illness in his history.
According to Tiffany Carter, her son was building savings to relaunch the seafood eatery he owned, which he named after his daughter. The business closed its doors due to the pandemic.
“They thought this was going to be a child no one cared anything about,” the grieving mother said, vowing not to stop searching for answers. “They’re clearly mistaken. Because he was somebody.”
Carter was reportedly working a temporary contract welding job in Taylorsville, located about 100 miles west of Fayette, where he lived. His mother said he had a disagreement with at least one of his coworkers in October and ran out of fear for his life.
“This was a nefarious act. This was an evil act,” Crump said, NBC reported. “Somebody murdered Rasheem Carter, and we cannot let them get away with this.”
The controversial billionaire says his fifth marriage will be his last.
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch is engaged for the fifth time, less than a year after his divorce from Jerry Hall.
The 92-year billionaire revealed he had proposed to Ann Lesley Smith, 66, a former San Francisco police chaplain.
Mr Murdoch told the New York Post, one of his own newspapers, that he hoped this would be his last marriage after four previous unions ended in divorce.
He said: “I was very nervous. I dreaded falling in love, but I knew this would be my last. It better be. I’m happy.”
Rupert Murdoch with his fifth wife to be Ann Lesley SmithCREDIT: Jenna Bascom Photography
Mr Murdoch, who owns titles including The Times and The Sun, as well as Fox News, met Ms Smith just six months ago after his divorce from Jerry Hall was finalised.
She attended a 200-person event at his vineyard in Bel Air, California, and he called her two weeks later.
Ms Smith, who was previously married to country music singer and TV executive Chester Smith, described the engagement as a “gift from God”.
She said: “I’m a widow 14 years. Like Rupert, my husband was a businessman. Worked for local papers, developed radio and TV stations and helped promote Univision.
“So I speak Rupert’s language. We share the same beliefs.”
Mr Murdoch proposed in New York on St Patrick’s Day, joking that he is “one-fourth Irish”. The billionaire told the New York Post he personally selected an Asscher cut diamond for the engagement ring.
The wedding is scheduled to take place this summer. The couple will divide their time between the UK, California, New York and Montana.
Mr Murdoch’s six-year marriage to former supermodel Jerry Hall ended last year. Ms Hall was reportedly handed the keys to an £11m Oxfordshire mansion and a home in the south of France, as well as a cash sum, as part of the divorce settlement.
Mr Murdoch’s marriage to Jerry Hall ended in a divorced that was finalised soon before me met his new partner CREDIT: Max Mumby/Pool/Indigo/Getty Images
The businessman’s first marriage to Patricia Booker, an Australian flight attendant, lasted nine years.
In 1967 he married Anna Torv, a Glasgow-born journalist, and the pair remained together for 32 years. She received a reported $1.7bn payout following their divorce in 1999.
Mr Murdoch’s marriage to Anna Torv, his longest, ended in 1999, it was swiftly followed by another wedding CREDIT: Bettmann
He then married Wendi Deng, who is 37 years his junior, on his yacht just 17 days later. That marriage lasted 14 years until their divorce in 2013.
Mr Murdoch’s marriage to Wendi Deng lasted 14 years CREDIT: Bob Riha, Jr./Getty
The tycoon has six children from his previous marriages, including daughter Elisabeth – a top TV executive – and sons James and Lachlan.
He is now preparing to hand over control of his media empire to chosen heir Lachlan, who is executive chairman of Fox Corporation and co-chairman of News Corp.
However, Mr Murdoch’s children retain interests in the business and there is a speculation that there could be a battle for control, sparking comparisons to hit TV series Succession.
In January, the patriarch was forced to call off a planned merger between Fox and News Corp – a deal widely seen as a way of consolidating power under Lachlan – following fierce opposition from shareholders.
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