Latisha Frazier, 18: Group Of Friends Beat Her To Death
While there have been convictions in connection with this case, Latisha Frazier is still a missing person. The 18-year-old’s loved ones were sent into a panic when she vanished from Washington, D.C., on August 2, 2010. She was reportedly a full-time employee at McDonald’s and was last spotted leaving her job, only to be never seen again.
This was unusual behavior for Latisha, primarily because the Crossland High School graduate was known to be hardworking and reliable. Twenty-four hours never passed without Latisha, a mother of a toddler named Diamond, contacting her loved ones, so when relatives could not reach her, it was an immediate cause for concern.
Latisha Frazier’s family was diligent in their search for the beloved teen. They reportedly walked the streets passing out flyers, often stopping cars that drove by, while police chased after every lead—which were few—that landed on their desks. Then, about five months after Latisha disappeared, messages began popping up on her Facebook page. They were riddled with threats.
The unknown social media user stated that Latisha Frazier was dead and that her remains could be located at Rock Creek Park.
“I keep wondering to myself: Was there something I missed?” Latisha’s sister Latoya Frazier said back in 2011. “Was she in danger? Was she unhappy? It just doesn’t make any sense, because she would never leave her daughter. They were attached at the hip.”
In January 2011, a then-23-year-old Brian Gaither was arrested for an unrelated charge. However, he would be the key to unlocking this mystery after he told authorities that he and several others were responsible for the death of Latisha Frazier.
According to Gaither, he was with a group of people—Anneka Nelson (16), Lanee Bell (17), Johnnie A. Sweet (17), Cinthya Proctor (18), and Laurence Hassan (22)—when they reportedly invited Latisha to an apartment. Hassan told investigators that they intended on “[teaching] her a lesson” because they alleged that Latisha stole $900 from Sweet, the person who was said to have recruited his friends for this diabolical deed. The group conspired to lure Latisha Frazier to the location, and once she was there, Hassan reportedly led her to his bedroom, where they all joined in on beating her.
Latisha reportedly cried for them to stop, and even after the brutal attack ceased, two of the men occasionally kicked and punched her. The young mother was reportedly still alive when she was bound with tape around her wrists and ankles and placed in a closet with a pillowcase around her head. Latisha was said to have been whimpering when left in the dark. No one would check on her until the following day, and it was then that she was found deceased.
Hassan claimed that the group decided to dismember Latisha’s body in a bathtub, but he wanted the remains removed from his home. So, Latisha Frazier was thrown away in a dumpster behind the residence, collected by Waste Management, and left in a Virginia landfill where authorities believe she remains. Search efforts have been executed, but a decade ago, it was believed that she was at least 60 feet below the surface. Yet, it is noted that if the suspects were lying about the location of the dumpster or even when they disposed of Latisha’s remains, she could be anywhere.
“It does feel good to know someone has been arrested, that someone will be punished,” said Barry Campbell, Latisha’s father, back in 2011. “I knew this wasn’t my daughter to just up and leave and leave Diamond. I think we all knew that something terrible had happened.”
Initially, Gaither denied he was a part of the attack. However, he later admitted to placing Latisha Frazier in a “stranglehold” or “sleeper hold” until she stopped moving, and placing her remains in a dumpster.
The suspects faced charges of first-degree and second-degree murder along with kidnapping, and during their trials, Sweet and Bell stated that the incident stemmed from “peer pressure.” Their prison sentences are as follows: Gaither, 32 years; Proctor, 21 years; Hassan, 18 years. The other defendants, including Antoine McCullough, who faced charges connected to evidence tampering, pleaded guilty to their charges. However, their fates have been difficult to locate.
“I extremely apologize. If I could change the past I would; it truly hurts. It wasn’t supposed to go down like this. I really want you all to forgive me; I take full responsibility for my actions,” said Hassan.
Prosecutors stated that Latisha was never fully accepted by the group of friends and most likely was never aware that money was missing from Sweet.
At the time of her disappearance, Latisha Frazier stood 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighed 165 pounds. She had black/dark brown hair and brown eyes. Latisha had a tattoo of the word “Diamond” on her right arm and eczema on her arms and legs. She wore her McDonald’s uniform, including black pants, a brown shirt, a white tank top, and black Nike boots. Latisha wore eyeglasses, but it was unknown if she had them at her death. She would be 29 years old at the time of this publication.
Anyone with information about this case is urged to contact the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department Missing Persons Unit at (202) 576-6768 or their local authorities.
Please share this story about Latisha Frazier to keep her memory alive. She is our sister, and her life matters.
Sources
NamUs
Homicide Watch DC
DC.gov
Washington Post 1 & 2 & 3
WJLA News
The Charley Project
D.C. DOJ
Homicide Watch
