Chicago police deny rumors about potential West Side serial kidnapper, confirm all recent missing women have been accounted for
An interview with Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson attempted to shut down rumors of a serial kidnapper/murderer.
Community members, people on social media, and myself have all speculated that the string of disappearances from the West Side may be related. In an interview on Wednesday, Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson stated:
"Right now, there is no credible information that we have a serial kidnapper going around in the black community, pillaging. That's just not true."
In another statement however, Johnson said that two of the cases are believed to be linked. He did not say which two victims were the ones they are investigating together.
"Let me clarify something," Johnson said. "We know that there's only two of these individuals that are related."
More details of the cases were shared. As of today, police know the following information about the linked victims:
Both missing people were last seen with the same person
All three individuals were involved "in narcotics sales, prostitution and using narcotics together."
none of the cases have been ruled a homicide, pending autopsy results from the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office
While police have not yet named a persons of interest in either case, some individuals on social media have identified a man they believe had been last seen with both Sadaria Davis (15) & Shantieya Smith (26) before their disappearances.
Youtube user @MikeLarry2K10 shared this video:
Another user, @beachbeauty35 shared a similar image:
Questions/ Considerations
Who is this “Charles” individual? Have police spoken with him?
What happened the days of their disappearances?
Did Sadaria and/or Shantieya go with him willingly?
Sadaria and Shantieya were both missing for a few weeks before their bodies were discovered. How long were they deceased before they were found?
Cause and manner of death have not been determined, and the cases are not yet ruled homicides. How did these women die?
Shantieya had a 7-year old daughter at home, and on the day of her disappearance she left without her cell phone. Her family does not believe she would have willingly left her daughter. Did Shantieya go to meet this Charles person, expecting to come right home?
Both Shantieya and Sadaria were found on abandoned/vacant properties. This feels very intentional - the person responsible for bringing them to their final locations may have some experience with this before. Not sure in what context.
Were these women drug users? Sadaria was 15 years old.
That being said, police believe these deaths may be drug related. Our city is currently facing an opioid epidemic, and addiction can happen to anyone. Could these women have overdosed?
If so, why were they not discovered for weeks, and why were they hidden in vacant buildings? If someone was with either of them and wanted to avoid getting in trouble, they would not have to go through all the effort of moving and hiding their bodies. SOMEONE KNOWS SOMETHING.
Twitter post from Chicago Police 6/13/18