Ex-NFL Player Sentenced to Life For Doing The Unthinkable, Illinois Cafeteria Worker Exposed For $1.5 Million Chicken Wing Heist, Oklahoma City Will Pay Black Man Millions, Atlanta Searches For Street Racers Who Killed Young Mother And More Crime Stories

A roundup of The Root’s most important crime stories of the week.

Ex-NFL Player Sentenced to Life in Prison for Doing The Unthinkable

Cierre Wood, 33, and Amy Taylor, 31 Screenshot: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police

Five-year-old La’Rayah Davis was caught in the middle of an ongoing custody battle between her two parents. But before her father, Daunan Davis, could gain full custody, La’Rayah was found unresponsive in the Las Vegas home of former NFL running back Cierre Wood. After being taken to the hospital with several injuries, La’Rayah was pronounced dead on April 9, 2019, according to the Guardian. – Phenix S Halley Read More

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Meet the Masterminds Behind the Beats: Celebrating Black Music Producers by Region

Black Man Sentenced to Prison For Murder After Victim Spewed Racial Slurs at His Family

41-year-old Anthony Collins Screenshot: Ocean County Corrections

A New Jersey man will remain behind bars after he delivered a punch that killed a white man last year. Anthony Collins, 41, was sentenced to three years in prison, and in accordance with the state’s No Early Release Act, he is required to serve 85 percent of his term, according to VIBE. – Phenix S Halley Read More

Illinois Cafeteria Director In Trouble for Running a $1.5 Million Chicken Wing Heist…Seriously

Vera Liddell Image: Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office; Stock Image

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, people everywhere took advantage of low gas prices and working from home. Vera Liddell, on the other hand, saw COVID as her sign to pull off the biggest scheme in chicken wing history, and now, she’s paying the price. – Phenix S Halley Read More

After 50 Years, Oklahoma City Will Finally Pay This Black Man Millions

Glynn Simmons poses for a portrait after the hearing where Judge Amy Palumbo ruled to approve his “actual innocence” claim at the Oklahoma County Courthouse in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on December 19, 2023. Image: Getty Images Nick Oxford

There’s not enough money in the world that can make amends for the five decades Glynn Ray Simmons spent in prison wrongfully convicted of murder, but Oklahoma City is trying to make it right by awarding him over $7 million. – Phenix S Halley Read More

Atlanta Family On the Hunt for Street Racers Who Struck and Killed A Young Mother

Shantea Reeves Screenshot: [{‘styles’: [], ‘value’: ‘Eventbrite’, ‘type’: ‘Text’}]

It’s been almost two weeks since highway street racers allegedly hit a 32-year-old woman before leaving her to die on an Atlanta interstate. Now, her family is finally speaking out, and they want answers. – Phenix S Halley Read More

Zimbabwean Family Grieves After US Diplomat Allegedly Kills Young Girl in Car Accident

11-year-old Ruvarashe Takamhanya Screenshot: The Herald

Zimbabwean student Ruvarashe Takamhanya was walking to school with her best friend when she was hit and killed by a speeding car. The 11-year-old’s mother, Juliana Vito, found out about the June 3 accident from neighbors and quickly ran to the scene, according to BBC. – Phenix S Halley Read More

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