Community Needs to Help Police Solve Homicides
LAKELAND | Arthur Johnson wants everyone to remember a simple rule: Treat others as you want to be treated. To Johnson, lead pastor at St. Luke’s Ministries in Lakeland, that means standing up and...
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Son’s Unsolved Homicide Leaves Mom Struggling
LAKELAND | She didn’t believe them when they called. She was angry and scared and sad. She wanted to throw something or scream and wake up from her nightmare. Linda Cook Thames grabbed the keys to her...
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Forum: Lakeland Mother Wants Answers In 2001 Murder of Son
JUNE 5, 2014 Linda Cook Thames fought back tears Thursday night as she pleaded for someone in the community to step up. She’s not asking, she’s begging for someone — anyone — to come forward with...
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Small Things Remind Family of Anthony Curtis’ Murder
LAKELAND | More than six years later, even the smallest thing can bring up memories of that night. A song on the radio, driving past Grandma’s house, a license plate with the letters AC or a Batman...
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Case Profiles: Victims and the Families Left Behind
Here are the stories behind some of Lakeland’s unsolved murders. We’ll be adding more stories here during 2014. Clifford Drake They were almost perfect for one another, Sheila Drake said, and she’s...
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Erin Taylor Was Turning Her Life Around Before She Was Shot at Home
LAKELAND | Most days Stephanie Greer knows what she’s going to hear on the other end of the line. They don’t have any leads. They’re still working. They haven’t forgotten. But she still picks up the...
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Convenience Store Owner’s Murder Left Three Children Fatherless
LAKELAND | Every day, Donna Jaber Abu-Khdair looks at her three children and wishes they would’ve had a chance to know their father. He was a caring, compassionate and hard-working man, she said. He...
View ArticleSheila Drake Lost Her Nearly Perfect Mate
LAKELAND | They were together 20 years and only fought once. It wasn’t a pretty fight, and after that, Sheila Drake said she and her husband, Clifford, promised each other they wouldn’t do it again....
View ArticleLakeland Man Shot 3 Times During 2007 Home Invasion
LAKELAND | A part of Annie Davis died the night her son was shot. It was shortly before 3 a.m. June 4, 2007, when at least two men broke into Davis’ house at 2934 Kathryn Ave. They came in through the...
View ArticleMan Slain in 2010 Was Seeking Better Life
LAKELAND | John Walters moved with his family to Lakeland in 2003 in hopes of a better life. The small city he moved from, Springfield, Mass., has a history of violent crime that was only getting...
View ArticleCold Case: Man’s 1998 Murder Haunts Stepson
LAKELAND | Ernest Grayer begged his stepfather to stay with him that evening. It was Nov. 12, 1998, and Grayer was sitting in his apartment with his 3-week-old daughter. Carter Evans was smitten with...
View ArticlePolice: 2003 Murder of Rodney Williams During an Attempted Robbery
LAKELAND | During the past 11 years, Julia Waters has heard numerous stories about why someone shot her 36-year-old son to death. She’s heard people say that maybe some trouble followed Rodney Williams...
View ArticleSisters Carry Painful Memories of Father’s Death
LAKELAND | Their eyes fill with tears when they remember that Friday night. It was 23 years ago, but the three sisters still recall it in detail. Ebony Henderson was 10 years old and begged her father...
View ArticleFamily Waits for a Witness to Speak
LAKELAND | Susie Jordany dreams of getting a phone call, one when she can hear Lakeland police Detective Russ Hurley’s voice on the other end telling her the nightmares she’s been having might finally...
View ArticlePatriarch’s Death Still Haunts Family
LAKELAND | It was just before dawn on a Thursday almost 31 years ago. Shad Jenkins, 65, had his car jacked up under the carport next to his house at 1137 W. 10th St. in Lakeland. The retired father of...
View Article16 Years After Shooting, Family Still Feels Loss
LAKELAND | One bullet tore a family apart. It left two young boys without a father. A mother and father without their oldest son. Sisters without their brother. Brothers without their best friend. A...
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Karen Badger & Robert April
Passage of Decades Leaves Scant Information on Solving Some Crimes May 20, 1984 & October 19, 1986 Opening the brown cardboard boxes is like traveling back in time. Inside is a lot of empty space...
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25th Anniversary of 1989 Christmas Freeze
December 25, 1989 Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec convallis, orci sit amet sollicitudin ornare, urna enim molestie purus, eu dapibus est massa mollis tortor. Proin nec...
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1989: Clarence Thomas
Police Say Lakeland Man Was Likely Killed by Person He Knew November 11, 1989 Clarence Thomas would give the shirt off his back to anyone who needed it. Literally. Tyrone Williams remembers one cold...
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1984: Leonard McCullough
A Bloody Fingerprint Could Be the Key to Lakeland Man's Murder November 30, 1984 A bloody fingerprint could be the key to solving the more than 30-year-old murder of 44-year-old Leonard McCullough....
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