Freeway Phantom - Relisha Rudd: Truer Crime

Episode Date: July 14, 2023

This week, on July 11th, marked “Relisha Rudd Remembrance Day'' in Washington, DC. As you heard in Freeway Phantom, back in 2014, Relisha Rudd, an 8 year old Black girl, went missing from Northeast, DC. Her whereabouts are still unknown. The timeline of Relisha’s disappearance is somewhat unclear but what is clear is that multiple systems failed to keep her safe and the failure of those systems is why no one even knew that she was missing, until it was too late. Tenderfoot TV has partnered with Truer Crime host, Celisia Stanton, to share more of Relisha Rudd’s story with you. In this episode of Truer Crime, Celisia takes a deeper look into what happens when the systems put in place to protect children, ultimately fail them.Truer Crime tells stories of real people who are missing, murdered or misled, digging deeper and challenging listeners to ask questions about the root cause of crime, and what justice really is. You can listen to “Truer Crime '' on Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The True Crime Podcast, Sacred Scandal, returns for a second season to investigate a led sexual abuse at Mexico's La Luz del Mundo Mega Church. Journalist Robert Garza explores survivor stories of pure evil experiences at the hands of a self-proclaimed apostle who is now behind bars. I remember as a little girl being groomed to be his concubine, that's how I was raised. It is not wrong if you take your clothes off for the Apostle. Listen to Sacred Scandal on the IHR radio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. 911 what's your emergency? It's a nightmare we could never have imagined. An Achiller?

Who is still on the loose? In the 1980s we're in high school losing friends, teachers, and community members. We weren't safe anywhere. Would we be next? It was getting harder and harder to live in Mompine. Listen to the Murder Years on the I Heart Radio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. During our investigation into the Freeway fandom case, we learned about Relisha Rudd, an eight-year-old little girl who went missing from North East DC in 2014.

Forty years after the Freeway Fandom, the epidemic of missing Black Girls continues. Our team traveled to DC and attended Relisha Rudd Remembrance Day last year, which is organized by the Metropolitan Police Department in partnership with DC Missing Voices founder and advocate Henderson Long. The purpose of this event is to spread awareness and let the public know that the search for relisha is not over. The timeline of relisha's disappearance is somewhat unclear, but what is clear is that multiple systems failed to keep her safe.

And the failure of those systems is why no one even knew that she was missing until it was too late. We have to continue to highlight cases like relishes because stories of missing black children receive less media attention. And while social media is an equalizer in the sharing of information, a 2022 media analysis by USA Today found that stories of missing black children receive approximately 40% less online engagement. Tenderfoot TV has partnered with Truer Crime host Celicia Stanton to share a religious

story with you. In this episode of Truer Crime, Celicia takes a deeper look into what happens when the systems meant to protect children fail. True or Crime tells stories of real people who are missing, murdered, or misled. Celicia digs deeper and challenges listeners to ask questions about the root cause of crime and what justice really is. You can listen to True or crime wherever you get your podcasts. Check out the episode.

Please be aware that today's story contains references to suicide, gun violence, child abuse, and housing insecurity. Please take care while listening. I was in the third grade the year I first remember realizing that the bad stuff that happens on TV happened to real people. At the time, my mom worked at a small liberal arts college and so we lived in on-campus housing. At that point, my mom had spent most of her career working at different colleges and universities and so at eight, I was already plenty comfortable in the company of university students who seemed to find me equal parts adorable and annoyingly talkative. My days as that kid that lived on campus were mostly warm.

Like the time I'd request to perform in the college talent show, I sang the Liz Mcguire theme song, duh. Or the time I went trick or treating through the residence hall, those suckers really gave me all their dorm candy. And there were also touches of absurdity. Like the time some drunk undergrad stole my bike and placed it in the middle touches of absurdity, like the time some drunk undergrads stole my bike and placed it in the middle of a frozen lake. Or, the time when different students, also drunk, threw a couch out the window with study lounge where it landed gracefully on top of our family's van. It was a unique life, for sure, but overall, it was one shielded from the scary things reporters

drawn down about on TV. But that was TV. Those things just didn't happen in real life. That is, until the day that a 21-year-old student disappeared from the campus where I lived. Within hours of her disappearance, she was reported missing, and a massive search was underway. The next day, they'd find her body in a dam, only a mile away. A short time after that, investigators would find her killer. It was awful. It was the type of horrifying event that the media jumps on.

The woman, attractive, white, and blonde have been abducted from parking lot on campus. Her killer was a complete stranger, a prolly struggling with mental illness. As word spread, so did the community's fear. All of a sudden, folks were double checking their door locks and watching everyone around them with a bit more suspicion. At 8, I was suddenly aware that the unimaginable wasn't just TV. In the years that followed, I'd spend long nights watching Nancy Grace and many days begging my mom for grocery store tabloids, getting media and messages that sold a certain story. Victims of violence?

White women. Perpetrators of violence? Scary strangers? Monsters in the dark. And who to call for help when nightmare becomes reality? The police, of course. It would be a long time before I realized the truth. That white women are among the least likely to be crime victims. That perpetrators are rarely strangers, and that police aren't nearly as

good at finding answers as popular media leads us to believe. As it turns out, becoming a victim of crime is often far less random than it may seem. I discovered upon closer examination that our community sit on a complex web of systems, many with widely gaping holes. Holes that pull in folks who are often quite different than those we usually see on TV. But who are these people? The ones who our systems fail and then promptly forget. As always, it's a question with many answers. But today, we'll talk about one.

Because this is the story of Relisha Rudd. I'm Slesis Anton, and you're listening to True Crime. May 19th, 2014. The day seemed to be going more or less like normal for pain elementary school social worker Mr. Workman. According to Michael Chandler, writing for the Washington Post, Workman typically spent his days supporting students with behavioral disabilities, doing referrals for support services, stuff like that. And on this day, Workman left the school to follow up on one specific student, Relisha Rudd, a second grader who had been racking up absences,

unexcused absences. According to the post, Workman's journey began two weeks before on March 5th. The start was pretty standard, a ping, an alert, a notice. Relisha had been absent, unexcused, five times. That was the content of the automatic notification, the kind the school social worker always received after student missed enough school days without explanation. Workman already knew Relisha's family. He had worked closely with her brothers, and Relish was one of 57

students a pain elementary whose family was struggling with homelessness. So after he learned about Relish's absences, Workman did what he usually did in these cases and followed up with her family. And when he asked about Relish's time away from his school, the family told him that Relish was sick and currently under the care of a doctor. And yeah, that seems like a reasonable reason for a child to miss school. But to get the absences officially excused, workmen needed proper documentation. So the family gave him the phone number for relish's physician, Dr. Tatum. According to journalist Michael Chandler, over the next several days, workmen exchanged a number of calls with Dr. Tatum. Tatum would tell the social worker that, yes, relish was under his care and that he was

treating her for a neurological issue. But despite these phone calls, workmen were still having trouble getting a hold of the documentation he needed. First, Dr. Tatum said he would send the necessary paperwork over once relish's treatment had been completed. And then he provided a fax number which couldn't be reached. Finally, by March 19th, relisha had been gone for school for over four weeks.

At that point, workman finally decided enough was enough. He would go to the shelter where relisha lived and Dr. Tatum worked to retrieve the documentation his self. But when he arrived and asked the shelter staff if he could speak with Dr. Tatum, workman was speak with Dr. Tadam, workman was met with confusion.

There was no one named Dr. Tadam who worked there, they told him. Feeling a bit panicked at that point, workman asked if there was anybody by the name of Tadam who worked at the shelter at all. This time, there was recognition. There was a Tadam employed by the shelter, but he wasn't a doctor. Khalil Tatum was the shelter's custodian. It was a nightmare-ish answer that would raise an even more horrifying question. Where was Relisha Rudd?

Understanding everything that led up to this point and everything that would follow took tracing a long and twisted road through news coverage and interviews, government reports, and celebrity talk shows. At a journey, I want to take you on too. But to do that, you'll first need to get to know Rolisha. My mom likes to say that as a kid, I was quick to correct anyone who got my name wrong. That's not my name. It's Celicia, came my quick reply to every mix-up or mispronunciation. And while I still feel like my mom's retelling makes me sound much sassier than I actually was, the point was this. My name was my name, and I wasn't afraid to correct folks.

So when I read that relisha hated when people got her name wrong, I got it. In 2014, relisha Rudd, who lived in DC, was eight. She loved Michael Jackson, Tinkerbell, dancing, and was just the right amount of sassy, according to Theresa Vargas of The Washington Post. A little girl unafraid to ask for what she wanted. The cheerleading coach of the school of the school of Relesha attended through first grade

would tell the Washington Post that Relesha came up to her once after watching other students practicing their cheers. Throwing her arms into the air, Relesha would spell out the word victory. She wanted the coach to see that she had what it took to be on the team. But despite Rolisha's spunk, sass, and happy attitude, in her young life, she was already no stranger to hardship.

According to Leslie Foster of W USA 9, at the time of her disappearance, Alicia lived with her mother, Shemika, stepfather Antonio, and two younger brothers in the southeast corner of the city at the DC General Family Shelter. John Clinton, Hale writing for Wemu, would say that by the time 2014 had rolled around, the family had been living at the shelter for a year and a half. The result of a multi-erational struggle to escape poverty. And as I read about Relesha and her family, it struck me how heart-wrenchingly common these stories are. According to a report from the National Alliance and Homelessness, despite DC's commitment to place families like Relesha's into independent long-term housing,

from 2013 to 2014, DC's homeless family population grew by 25%. While the number of permanent supportive housing options increased only 3%. It's a reality which left many children without safe and reliable places to sleep at night. Relisha Rudd was one of them. But the road that led Relisha and her loved ones

to DC General Family Shelter, was a long one. And there's this timeline put together by the Urban Institute that lays it all out. After Rolisha was born in 2005, her family moved into an apartment in a neighborhood reeling from the weight of racism and poverty. When they moved in, it wasn't exactly the safest place for children. Then comes 2007, when R relisha was two years old. And child welfare gets a report saying the family's kids

were inadequately fed and inadequately supervised. In that report, well, it kind of marked the start of a five-year stretch, a half-decade of housing instability. In that time, five separate landlords filed lease violation cases against the family. Then, twenty-polyth hit, and Shamika Young, relish his twenty-five-year-old mother, got another of Xionotes.

Only this time, they had nowhere new to go. The family would end up living in a motel for three months before moving into the DC General Family Shelter. That's where they lived for a year and a half before March 19, 2014. The day when pain elementary school social worker, Mr. Workman discovered that relusia was missing. Sacred Skando, one of the best new podcasts of 2022, is back with a closer look at the darkness

surrounding mega church La Luz del Mundo and its leader, Nasson Joaquin Garcia. They believe that he was Jesus Christ on Earth. It wasn't even so much that he liked sex. He wanted something to pray. It's the largest cult in the world that no one has ever heard of. For three generations, the light of the world had an incredible control on his community that began in Mexico and then grew across the United States.

Until one day, a day of reckoning for the man whose millions of followers called him the Apostle. Their leader was arrested and survivors began to speak out about the sexual abuse, the murder and corruption. This is just a business and their product are people. to business and their product are people. They want to know that they will kill you. Listen to all episodes now on the I Heart Rainy Up, Apple Podcasts, or whatever you get your podcasts. 911, what's your emergency?

Oh my God! It's a nightmare we could never have imagined. An Achiller who is still on the loose. My small town rocked by murder. There are certain murders I'm scared to discuss. In the 1980s we're in high school losing friends, teachers, and community members. One after another, after another, for a decade. We weren't safe anywhere. We're teenagers terrified to leave our own homes. Would we be next? Who is killing all the kids? And why? In that moment, I saw rage. And why do some want the town secrets to stay dead and buried forever?

I'm not sure why you're digging up all this old stuff again, but I'd be careful. Don't say I didn't warn you, Nancy. Listen to the Murder Years on the iHeart Radio Radio app Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts. As I learned about Rilisha and her family, it struck me that even though they use several social service programs, they still ultimately ended up living at a shelter. And this, it mirrors the stories of so many folks facing housing insecurity. It's a scary reality considering the fact that according to Boston University's School of Public Health,

a lack of housing has been linked to higher risk for a bunch of horrifying outcomes, including at worst, early death. And rarely are people experiencing houselessness dealing with only this stress. Substance abuse, poverty, and mental health struggles are just a few of the many things placing strain on families like relishers. Without the right support, all of these things can spur cycles of instability that may be

nearly impossible to escape. But perhaps it's a reality which says more about the conditions of people than it does about the people themselves. According to a 2020 article written by reporter Christiansopada for DCist, nationally black people comprise 40% of the homeless population despite being only 13% of the general public. And in DC, black residents make up nearly 48% of the general population, but 88% of people experiencing homelessness. To many working to end homelessness, systemic racism is part and parcel to chronic homelessness. As Lara Pukach director of advocacy for Miriam's kitchen would tell the DCist,

quote, ending homelessness in Black communities is a matter of ending homelessness altogether. And when systemic racism is a direct cause of chronic homelessness, in nearly half of those experiencing homelessness nationally are black, then the stigma against the houseless becomes racialized. It seemed to me it was yet another cycle. Systemic racism fuels homelessness, which feels more systemic racism and around and around it goes. It really does function scarily well, I thought. But contrary to harmful stereotypes, many folks

experience housing insecurity. And homeless, it doesn't need to look a certain way. People phasing homelessness go to work and school, they have family and friends who deeply love them. Holes and wholes, go to work and school. They have family and friends who deeply love them. And the same, of course, was true for Rolisha. Outside of her mom, Shmiika, and stepfather Antonio, Rolisha and her brothers would spend lots of time with their grandmother Melissa and their aunt, Ashley. So on March 19th, 2014, when the school social worker

reported Rolisha missing, it was those closest to Rolisha who investigators spoke with first. But the troubling thing was, no one seemed to know that relishah had even been missing. And here I have to be honest and say the exact details of the police questioning who said what, when, and where, they vary quite a bit depending on the source. But here's what we do know, broadly speaking. According to a timeline put together by John Colin Hill and Ponzi Rooch, for WAMU, police questioned Rolisha's mom, Shemika, and stepdad Antonio in the family shelter's conference room. According to the podcast through the cracks, Antonio would say that he was completely

unaware that Rolisha was missing. He had been working on a construction project that had him away from the shelter quite a bit, and he would say that he was shocked to discover that Chimika had not laid eyes on Valisha in weeks. Chimika, for her part, would eventually admit that she hadn't seen her daughter since March 1st. But according to Leslie Foster of WUSA9, she hadn't been concerned because she believed Valisha was with her aunt Ashley and grandmother, Melissa. According to a timeline from Wemu, later that same day, investigators arrived at Ashley's house. Ashley would tell reporter Johanna Lee that, quote, when the police showed up here with

their guns drawn, that's when they finally told me Relaishah was missing. I didn't even know my niece was missing. She had last seen Relaishah a few weeks before on a day she cared for her at her home. While police were at Ashley's house, they also found Rolisha's grandmother, Melissa, who they took back to the shelter conference room for questioning. According to reporter Johanna Lee, Melissa would tell police that her granddaughter wasn't missing. She would say that Shemika had agreed to let Rolisha spend time with Khalil Tatum.

And so finally, a picture starts to come together. Rolisha had been with Khalil Tatum, but other than being DC general shelters custodian, who was he? Why had he been taking care of Rolisha? And where was he now? As it turned out, Khalil Tatum was a close family friend. Despite the fact that relationships between shelter staff and residents were prohibited, Tatum was a warm man, who the family liked.

And to really understand how this came to be, it's important to remember that in 2014, the family had already been living at the shelter for 18 months. And DC General, well, it certainly didn't have the best reputation. According to reporting by journalist Johanna Lee for Inside Edition, at the time of delicious In DC general, well, it certainly didn't have the best reputation. According to reporting by journalist Johanna Lee for Inside Edition, at the time of delicious disappearance, DC general was the largest family shelter in DC, reportedly housing up to 250 families at a time. But despite its large capacity, the building's conditions were no place for anyone, much

less young children. Lee would write that quote, comments on the Shelter's Facebook group described allegations of discount drug deals, sexual assaults, bed bugs, and spoiled food. Shemika and Melissa would tell Lee that Relisha herself called the shelter a trap house. And Teresa Vargas would write for the Washington Post that Relisha quote,

one it out so desperately, she would fake asthma attacks to stay at relative's homes. For relish time at school, time with family and friends, they meant an escape from a place she really hated. And Cleal Tatum, well, he was someone the family could lean on. According to writer Teresa Vargas and Linbui writing for the Washington Post, over the months they've spent at the shelter, Tatum took relisha on lots of fun getaways. To them all, to the movies. Each time relisha would come back on time, and sometimes, even with gifts. Dishon Tatum, Cleel's nephew, would even tell the Washington Post that Tatum treated

relisha like she was his own daughter. Shemika trusted Tatum. She'd even refer to him as Rilisha's godfather to friends and family, a title that other kids at the shelter also affectionately called him. But the rest of the family, they didn't feel quite as comfortable with the relationship. At least not at first. Rilisha's grandmother, Melissa, would say that in the beginning, she was wary. She didn't understand why Shamika would let a grown man, a non-family member, especially

care for her daughter. Rolisha's aunt Ashley felt similar. But as time passed, they'd warmed up to Tatum. Melissa would tell Inside Edition that she'd have conversations with Tatum when she visited Shamika and the kids at the shelter. She'd tell the local news, W USA 9, that he'd even given her rides when she needed them. And ultimately, she'd say, I trusted him. I felt comfortable with him, and I don't trust everybody.

And while it'd be easy to judge delicious family, her mom Shemika, in particular, to say that her choice to let her daughter go off with a man who wasn't family was an example of reckless, bad parenting, I wondered how much recourse Shemika really felt she had. The shelter was no place for relisha. She had made it clear that she hated being there and really I can't imagine any kid enjoying being there. And here was a man with a good reputation who was offering relisha things that Shemika herself couldn't. Melissa would tell Inside Edition that while she believed that Shemika could have certainly

made better choices regarding the time she spent with Tatum, ultimately she believed that the choices she did make were Shemika's way of trying to provide a better, safer environment for her daughter. I couldn't help but consider how easy it is to condemn Shemika when you aren't actually Shemika. But regardless of all of this, the blame game wouldn't bring Rolisha home. And the reality was that Rolisha was probably with Khalil Tatum.

Problem was Khalil Tatum was nowhere to be found. Finally, investigators are able to track down security footage, which they hope will bring them closer to the answers they're looking for. The footage, which was captured several weeks earlier on February 26th, shows Tatum and Relisha in the hallway of a holiday inn. In it, the two can be seen casually walking side by side. Eventually, Tatum stops at a door, pulls out his key card, and swipes it. The two walk into the room, and that's it. It's not much, but it's a visual confirmation that puts Tatum with relisha on February 26th. Then, please say, they found evidence of another

sighting of the two, on March 1st. This time, relisha and Tatum were seen walking at an entirely different hotel, the day's in. Things take a turn for the worst when investigators can't piece together any known whereabouts relish after this march for sighting, which remember, it's nearly three weeks before relish was finally reported missing. But what they do find evidence for is hairling. Just one day after militia and Cleal Tatum were spotted at the days in, Tatum was seen making a number of purchases alone at a local store. Items which included 42 gallon trash bags and a shovel. And then, on March 20th, one day after the investigations began, law enforcement held

a press conference. Urging folks who may have information to come forward. And it's at this point that an amber alert is finally issued for Alicia. Three weeks after she was last seen, an a full day after she was reported missing. But even the amber alert, as little and as late as it was, came half-baked. While police would say that the Amber Alert was issued in DC and several surrounding states, investigative reporting by local news station WUSA-9 found that the Amber Alert had only been issued in DC.

When reporters questioned DC police chief Kathy Leneer about this at a March press conference, this is what she had to say. That's not true. I actually looked into that when I got that allegation. The Amber Alert was issued as far north as Pennsylvania and Delaware and as far south as Florida. W USA 9 would air the truth in a TV news segment. If that had only been true, TV stations across the East Coast would have been broadcasting and relicious disappearance. but our investigation found the Amber Alert

was only activated in the District of Columbia. And last month except for DC Maryland and Virginia where stories had aired, when we checked our Gnets history stations and CBS affiliates from Delaware and Pennsylvania to Florida, none had done a single story on Religious Rudd as they would

had an Amber Alert actually been issued in their states. But all of this would come to light days into the investigation, at a point when Hope was already dwindling. Because according to reporter Jessica Schlaidbach writing for the NY Daily News, on the same day the amber alert was initially issued, investigators were able to track Tatum to the Red Roof Inn, where he and his wife Andrea Tatum had checked in two days prior. But when they arrived to everyone's shock and horror, it was no clear Tatum, but instead only his wife, Andrea Tatum, dead from a gunshot wound to the head.

The discovery was devastating. Both for a delicious family whose hopes of finding relisha now seem to be dwindling, and for Andreatatum's family who were left confused and grief-stricken over their loss. Alexis Kelly and Dreia's daughter would tell John Colin Hill for the Wamen podcast through the cracks that her mother was deeply loved, that she was outgoing, outspoken, and that she loved to laugh. The discovery of Andrea Tatum shifted the priorities of the DC police, and on March 27th they announced that the search-to-find relisha had evolved to a recovery mission. It was another way of saying that they no longer expected to find a relish of red alive.

And then on April 1st, after a body is found in DC's Kennellworth Park, the investigation takes another shocking turn. This is ABC7 Breaking News. First of six multiple sources now confirmed to ABC 7, the body found inside Kennelworth Park is that of Khalil Tadam. He is the manacuse of kidnapping 8-year-old Rolisha Rudd, igniting a search that spread as far as Georgia. The park where his body was found is the same place DC police have spent four days searching

for any signs of the 8-year-old girl. Khalil Tadam had been found dead from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. The gun he used was the same gun used to kill Andrea Tatum. But, Rolisha, she was nowhere to be found. It seemed that Kaleel Tatum had taken with his life the lingering hope for answers. with his life, the lingering hope for answers. Sacred Skando, one of the best new podcasts of 2022, is back with a closer look at the darkness surrounding mega-church La Luz del Mundo

and its leader, Nasson Joaquin Garcia. They believe that he was Jesus Christ on Earth. It wasn't even so much that he liked sex. He wanted something to pray. It's the largest cult in the world that no one has ever heard of. For three generations, the Luz del Mundo had an incredible control on his community, that began in Mexico and then grew across the United States, until one day... A day of reckoning for the man whose millions of followers called him, the Apostle.

Their leader was arrested, and survivors began to speak out about the sexual abuse, the murder, and corruption. This is just a business and their product are people. They will kill you. Listen to all episodes now on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or whatever you get your podcasts. 911, what's your emergency? You shot her!

Oh my God! It's a nightmare we could never have imagined. And a killer who is still on the loose. My small town rocked by murder. There are certain murders I'm scared to discuss. In the 1980s, we're in high school losing friends, teachers, and community members. One after another, after another, for a decade.

We weren't safe anywhere. We're teenagers terrified to leave our own homes. Would we be next? Who is killing all the kids? And why? In that moment, I saw rage. And why do some want the town's secrets to stay dead and buried forever? I'm not sure why you're digging up all this old stuff again, but I'd be careful. Don't say I didn't warn you, Nancy.

Listen to the murder years on the I Heart Radio app Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcasts. In the months that followed with no signs of relisha, the responses were many. In the aftermath of the investigation, lots of folks wondered how something like this could happen. How could an eight-year-old girl who supposedly had the protection of so many, her family, the school system, the shelter, DC's child and family services, police, just be gone without a trace. How had you been able to disappear in the first place?

And why did it take weeks after she was last seen for an investigation to begin? It was a question that created mounting pressure. And under that pressure came an order from DC mayor Vincent Gray for full investigation into the city's response to relish his disappearance. But others still pointed the blame in an entirely different direction, namely at relish his mother, Shemika Young. As weeks turned into months and months and into years, Shemika continued to take the heat for what happened to Rolisha, even receiving death threats from the public,

according to WUSA9. And while Shemika would lose custody of her remaining children following Rolisha's disappearance, as I researched this story, I ran across a seemingly endless barrage of online commentators who believed that Shemika's kids should have been removed from her care far earlier. That doing so could have prevented relishes disappearance.

They'd often point to the fact that Chimikas had previously dealt with child welfare concerns. And these claims, they did hold some water. The Washington Post reported that child and family service officials had noted concerns of, quote, physical abuse, filthy living conditions, and a lack of food. But when I think of this, my mind immediately goes to the many complaints lodged against the DC General Family Shelter. Remember, there are ports of sexual assault, bed bugs, and spoiled food.

The Washington Post would take it even farther in their own investigation, which discovered that shelter residents were even forced to go without heat or hot water, sometimes for weeks at a time. These complaints, these allegations, they seemed so similar, lining up one to one. Yet many seemed more willing to criticize a 20-something-year-old mother trapped in poverty than a government-run institution whose resources likely dwarfed those of Shemika Young. It all reminded me of an entirely different episode I wrote for true crime, our first

episode on Darley Rudyare. What it struck me as I read about Darley was just how much entertainment and value there was in condemning mothers. And if Shemika Young can be compared to Darley Rudear at all, it's important to note that Shemika, who is poor and black, faces the additional barriers of racism and classism on top of it all. I found one example particularly horrifying,

an episode of the Steve Wilko show. And if you're like me and you've never heard of Steve Wilko's, a quick Google search will tell you everything you need to know. The show predictably stars host Steve Wilcoe's, a former Chicago cop and security guard from the Jerry Springer show. And on his show, which, let's be honest, is just Jerry Springer, but make it angrier, Wilcoe's promises to stand up for everyday people and help viewers in need. The clip that caught my attention though is one the Steve Wilco show uploaded to their YouTube channel. It's titled The Disappearance of Rolisha Rudd.

The video, which the mask over 1.6 million views, opens with the crowd booing and jeering a Shemika walks on stage. She's there because Antonio, Rolisha stepped out, cheering a Shemika walks on stage. She's there because Antonio, delicious stepdad and Melissa, relish his grandmother, have agreed to take a lie detector test as a way to prove they had no involvement

with relish's disappearance. Steve Welkos reads Antonio's results. Did you participate in any way in the disappearance of relisha? You answered no. Have you ever had any sexual Honeo's results. the same teacher and every question and they came back that Antonio told the truth. Watching this, I had the biggest pit in my stomach. A girl was missing and her disappearance was being exploited by the media, by the public for cheap entertainment. It was sickening. After the lie detector results were read, Antonio asked Shemika why she doesn't take the test. Shemika says she doesn't have to, that she doesn't want to. It's a choice I honestly might make too, as lie detectors have been proven to have no real validity. They're not even admissible in court. Steve Wilcoe is jumps in at this point,

and at first he seems to defend Shemika. You's at this point that the clip really takes a turn for the worse. Here's what happened next. I was the police and I investigated murders, crimes against children, and I'll tell you right now, you would be number one on my list of people I've been looking at. At this point, Chimika defends herself, saying that the police already eliminated her as a suspect. The back and forth continues with Steve Wilco saying she still has a good chance of being locked up.

What happens next is almost stranger than fiction. As Steve Woko makes the completely unsubstantiated claim that maybe Shemika killed Kylt-Kylt-Aim, and it leads to a pretty dramatic conclusion. You had an inappropriate relationship with that man. I did. You're lucky. You're lucky. I'm lucky with that. You don't believe that he killed himself? dramatic conclusion. You ain't no murderer who you say, and you know what? You ain't say, you're no good mother here. Get the fuck out of my side. You're a fucking bitch. You're a fucking bitch. You're a fucking bitch.

It made me sad to think that this was the value that we as a society place on little girls like Rolisha. The cursing out a young black mother on stage is fun to watch. For me, this is true crime at its worst. Desoite of any compassion or care focused instead on ratings, rage, and punishment. According to John Clinton Hill of Wemu, this would be the last time Shemika agreed to sit down with any media.

And while Shemika took the heat, the city of DC took none. Five months after DC mayor Vincent Gray ordered an investigation into the city's response to delicious disappearance, the office of the deputy mayor would release a report documenting their findings. This report, which identified several areas as systemic failure, would ultimately conclude that, quote, the review team did not find evidence that these tragic events were preventable. And this, well, I found it pretty infuriating, delicious case at face value seemed full

of preventable measures. And so I read the whole report. And as I did, I found myself in a somewhat constant state of shock. For starters, the report opened by saying that, quote, staff from the W.D. Mayor's offices reviewed the family's files from all relevant service providers and interviewed 16 individuals.

But because the review took place within the context of an ongoing criminal investigation, the reviewers did not have access to the information in the criminal investigative file or attempt to interview Relisharud's mother. I'm sorry, but what? How is it even possible that a comprehensive review on this case can even be done without access to the investigative file without speaking with Relisharud's mother? At that point, we're talking about just completely leaving out critical details. But also, I thought, the folks completing this review, they're the literal government. So sure,

maybe there's an argument to be made that the public shouldn't have access to an investigative filed during an ongoing case. But the government conducting this review can't even get access to the police file months later, not even this small group of people? It was interesting to me that the policies of law enforcement that had thus far failed to do its job, find relisha, or at least find out what happened to her, were being prioritized over the chance to conduct a truly comprehensive review, which could potentially prevent this sort of tragic event from happening ever again. But apparently, information sharing would be a recurring issue. The report would also note that, quote, from September 2013 through March 2014, the deputy

mayor has found that multiple human service agencies were engaged with the family. The agencies knew of the involvement of the other agencies, but did not consistently share information or consistently convened team meetings, nor did they seek the consent of family members to share information. Therefore, information about the family's strengths and needs known by one agency was not fully communicated to others, and the services were not coordinated.

Religious family situation was complex. They were dealing with many different simultaneous stressors and hardships. So sharing information, it's vital to giving them the holistic services and support that they need. And I mean, the report went on and on this way, listing off finding after finding whole after whole that relisha and her family fell through. From the shelter staff who quote, did not receive clinical supervision on engaging with families with complex needs to the the case notes taken on malicious family, which, quote, did not contain enough

detail to allow new staff to quickly and comprehensively understand the family's history and circumstances. The errors were many, but to the report's credit, after each finding, they'd list off a number of suggested reforms, ways to plug the holes for future families. But ultimately, their conclusion was the same. They'd write, even if all the policy recommendations in this report had been in place and fully implemented, the review team did not find evidence that these tragic events were preventable.

The report would also state that large family shelters are no place to raise children. And that the city needs to aggressively work towards other solutions for families in order to eliminate the need for these shelters in the first place. How ironic. The city of DC would say in one breath that homeless shelters are no place for families and in the next that delicious disappearance was inevitable. Is a sentiment which some social welfare experts completely disagree with,

including folks at the Urban Institute who believe that a supportive housing program could have saved delicious life. In an article titled Reimagining Life for Relish A Rude, Sarah Gillsby, Mary Kate Cunningham, and Lionel Foster displayed two side-by-side timelines of delicious life. On the left is Relish's story of Alicia's life. On the left is Alicia's story as we know it. On the right is a reimagined timeline. One were Alicia and her family never end up in DC General Family Shelter in the first place. In this reimagined view, the author's proposed something new. What if instead of five years of housing instability, Religious family had instead been referred to supportive housing?

But what is supportive housing? Well, the author's right that, quote, Supportive housing is designed for individuals and families with the most complex challenges. Those who are stuck in the revolving door of homeless shelters and crisis services. It pays a rent and provides additional assistance that can keep families in their homes.

It offers safe, permanent, subsidized housing and services that are designed to end the trauma of family's experience during years of involvement with multiple systems and service plans. Supportive housing is holistic. And it also doesn't leave folks behind. In instances where challenges may prevent a family from paying their rent, they keep their housing.

It's an approach which affirms the humanity of people by saying housing is a human right, and it's one that folks at the Urban Institute believe could have changed a religious story entirely. In the years since, religious disappearance, some things have changed and some remain the same. In 2018, the DC General Family Shelter closed for good. And according to Sam Collins writing for the Washington Informer, 80 short-term family housing units were opened in its place. An annual report from the Metropolitan

Washington Council of Governments found that as of June 2020, the number of folks experiencing homelessness in DC fell for the fifth consecutive year. A good start. But still, it's been more than seven years since the day Relisha was reported missing. And tragically, she remains unfound. And still, no one knows what happened to her. In 2020, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children released an age-progress photo showing what RELISHA may look like today. You can of course access the image on our website, truercrimepodcast.com. The photo is a gut-runching reminder of what could have been, what should have been.

Today, Rilisha would be 15 years old. She should be in high school, making tech talks with her friends, cheering at sports games, bossing around her little brothers, but she's not. And whose fault is it? It's a question Shannon Smith, Relish's former cheerleading coach, would answer for the Washington Post saying, who failed Relish? I believe everybody failed that girl. The school, the system, the doctors, the police, and everybody else that should have had something to do with her.

Relishous life mattered, and she deserved so much more than the hand she was dealt. Aren't all children deserving of safety no matter the resources they're born with? Don't we all deserve the chance to grow up? These questions are significant, because in the years since Relish's disappearance, her story has fueled attention towards what some folks are calling other relishers. The many many kids, harm by systems that are not solid enough to protect them. It all points towards a question with life or death stakes. How many more relishers? How many more until we decide enough is enough?

In compiling action items related to a relishous story, I was unfortunately unable to find anywhere that we could directly support relishous family. So instead, I want to direct you towards Miriam's kitchen, an organization in the DC area which works to support families like Relish's. Their goal is to end chronic homelessness in DC. And they do that through a supportive housing model, like the one I mentioned in today's episode.

Their services include free meal distribution, case management, a therapeutic art space, street outreach, system therapeutic art space, street outreach, system change and advocacy, and permanent support of housing support. You can donate and learn more about all they do at myriamskitchen.org. I also recommend you look into housing support

organizations in your own community. If you live in Minneapolis, like me, I recommend Zaka, a grassroots organization that is community trusted and provides direct and rapid assistance to those facing poverty, the threat of eviction, and displacement, and un-chultored homelessness. You can learn more and donate at zahch.org. Before we close out, I want to highlight a few key resources that were critical to the creation of this episode. First, the team of reporters of the Washington Post, who followed this case and published numerous

articles referenced in today's story. In particular, I'd like to thank Teresa Vargas, who wrote or co-wrote numerous pieces on Rolisha. Next, the urban institute's piece, Reimagining Life Relish of Red by Sarah Gelsby, Mary K. Cunningham and Lionel Foster. This resource was so helpful in learning about supportive housing and guiding me through how supportive housing could have changed the trajectory of Valisha's life. Finally, Inside Edition's article, Six Years On, Family of Valisha Rudd, still has many

unanswered questions about the year-old's disappearance by Joe Hanna Lee, was one of the many great resources that allowed me to hear direct perspectives of those closest to Valisha. As always, you can find a full list of sources used in this episode on the show notes for this episode on our website, www.truircrimepodcast.com. There's so much more to Rolisha's story than I was able to fit in today's episode. So if you'd like to learn more, I highly recommend Wemu and Pirex's podcast through the cracks. The podcast has eight episodes featuring interviews with many of those closest to Alicia. And it goes deep into all the systems that failed to protect

and support her and her family. Lastly, if you love True Crime and want more from us between episodes, you can follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook at True Crime Pod. There you'll find some behind-the-scenes content, additional resources, episode highlights, and more. The True Crime Podcast Sacred Scandal returns for a second season to investigate a led sexual abuse at Mexico's La Luz del Mundo Mega Church, journalist Robert Garza explores survivor stories of pure

evil experiences at the hands of a self-proclaimed apostle who is now behind bars. I remember as a little girl being groomed to be his concubine, that's how I was raised. It is not wrong if you take your clothes off for the apostle. Listen to Sacred Scandal on the IHART Radio App Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. 911, what's your emergency? You should have. It's a nightmare we could never have imagined.

An Achiller? Who was still on the loose. In the 1980s, we were in high school losing friends, teachers, and community members. We weren't safe anywhere. Would we be next? It was getting harder and harder to live in Mompine. Listen to the Murder Years on the iHeart Radio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Listen to the Murder Years on the iHeart Radio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.