Just hours after friends joyfully toasted them at their engagement party, a couple lay dead on a Jersey City street this morning, shot during what police said was a possible carjacking.

College sweethearts Michael Muchioki, 27, and Nia Haqq, 25, had planned to marry next April, those close to them said. On Saturday evening, the couple celebrated their engagement with friends and family at Delta’s, a soul food restaurant in New Brunswick, and then at a larger gathering at Perle, a club and lounge also in the Middlesex County city.

Afterward, a friend said, they begged off going to a diner, opting to return to Muchioki’s Jersey City apartment in Haqq’s Honda CRV. Police said the couple were shot around 3 a.m., a few doors from Muchioki’s home.

Today, as the news spread, their loved ones, shocked and devastated, arrived at Muchioki’s Randolph Avenue home. Many stood outside crying and hugging one another.

“My heart has been ripped out,” said Muchioki’s mother, Sandra Muchioki. “We will celebrate him (Muchioki) for the rest of our lives.”

Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said the couple were found dead near Haqq’s vehicle. Each had been shot twice, each once in the head, he said.

Based on the crime scene and witness statements, authorities believe the couple were approached by three carjackers — a man and two women — after they parked, but that an anti-theft device prevented the car from being easily moved, DeFazio said.
He said the carjackers left the scene in a gold Pontiac Grand Am.

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*Editor’s Note: Special thanks to Izzy for giving me a bit more insight to the type of person Alicia was. It’s a shame that such a beautiful and talented girl had to be murdered so senselessly.

Original Article Found at Sacbee

Alicia Ray did what many do at 20 years old: try to find their way.

Six weeks ago, the 2006 Sheldon High School graduate, moved back to Sacramento. She had moved to Texas in December 2007 with her mother, Eugena Taylor. But Texas was no substitute for the native Californian. According to Ray’s mother, she longed for a return to Sacramento.

Sunday, firefighters found Ray’s body at a 2205 West El Camino Road apartment where she had temporarily been staying with a friend. Her body was burned, and it appeared she had been strangled.

On Tuesday, Jose Duarte, 21, was charged with first-degree murder in connection with Ray’s death. He also was charged with felony use of a dangerous weapon and with arson. He did not enter a plea during his arraignment in Sacramento Superior Court.

Ray’s relatives say the young woman was strangled with a USB computer cord. Authorities told them her body was burned in an attempt to cover up the act.

“I know she didn’t deserve it,” said Xinh Nguyen, a longtime friend of Ray.

When Ray returned to Sacramento earlier this summer, relatives said they didn’t see or hear from her much. She sent a text message to her brother, Lindbergh Carey, just before coming to Sacramento but did not contact him once she arrived, he said.

“I kind of knew something was up because you hadn’t talked to her,” he said, adding that the two usually stayed in regular contact.

Maurice Bass, Ray’s cousin, said they spoke about three weeks after her arrival.

“She didn’t let me know that she was in Sacramento right away,” he said. He offered to let her stay at his home, but she wasn’t interested.

Nguyen said she didn’t even know Ray had returned to Sacramento until she heard about her death.

The night before Ray’s body was found, she was at a friend’s apartment, working on the computer and sending text messages until around 10 p.m., according to her mother. At about 10:30 p.m., her mother said, she called the friend at whose apartment she was found and asked if it was OK to have a man over.

That is the last contact that anyone had with Ray, according to her mother.

Ray’s plan had been to go Sacramento to find a job and rejuvenate herself, her mother said.

Carey said it is unclear if his sister was truly looking for a job.

Relatives said they didn’t know many of Ray’s friends.

“It’s just a big question mark in the middle I didn’t know,” said Bass, her cousin. “It just don’t make sense and that upsets me.”

None of the Ray’s family had met Duarte.

Ray’s remains will be flown to Los Angeles – where she was born – for burial.

*Editor’s Note: I’ve always wondered what goes through a social workers’ mind when they fail to act on tips they receive regarding children who are being mistreated? This is my NO means pointing a dirty finger at all social workers. It is, however, saying that cases regarding the abuse/mistreatment of children should not go on without investigation. Sure, some people tell tall tales out of spite or due to misunderstanding…but when it comes to children, all cases are worth investigating. May Jewell, Michael and Innocent rest in peace.

Original Article Found at NY Post

A deranged Long Island mom killed her three young children – apparently by drowning them – and laid their wet corpses side by side on her bed, police sources said yesterday.

Leatrice Brewer, 27, then called 911, but may have tried to kill herself first, the sources said.

A homicide detective said today one child’s throat was cut and all three showed signs of possible poisoning.

The shocking crime evoked memories of murderous mom Andrea Yates, who drowned all five of her kids in her Texas home in 2001.

Yesterday, when officers arrived at the home on Prospect Avenue in New Cassel at about 9 a.m., Brewer was standing at the top of a staircase and summoned them inside.

Police found 6-year-old Jewell Ward and her brothers, Michael Demesyeux, 4, and Innocent Demesyeux, 1, dead on their mom’s bed.

The father of Michael and Innocent, Innocent Demesyeux Sr., briefly stopped by the home and was clearly distraught.

“I think she planned it. She should get what she deserves,” the grieving dad said.

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