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05-14-2009, 03:30 PM
Murder of 16-year-old still unsolved
Police hope for a break in the case 5 years later
By LISA BEISEL, Staff Writer
Published 05/14/09
Rochelle Kennedy still remembers shopping with her daughter that day in May five years ago.
They went to Old Navy, she said, bought flip-flops and shorts, and then went to the nail salon. Her daughter, Traykia Jones, picked out a lime green polish for her fingernails and toes.
Days later, Kennedy saw those fingernails and toes again - on a slab in the medical examiner's office. Her 16-year-old daughter was murdered on May 11, 2004.
At about 2 a.m., Annapolis Police found Traykia's body inside a friend's Obery Court apartment, naked in a bed. She had a gunshot wound to the head.
Though police said they were originally confident they would solve the case, no one has yet been charged with the crime.
Monday, Kennedy marked the anniversary with a trip to a cemetery on Bestgate Road where her daughter was buried. She does that sometimes on holidays and special occasions or when she just feels the need to connect with her daughter.
Though the five-year anniversary is hard, it's no harder than any other day for her family, Kennedy said.
"We always think of her," she said. "She's always around us, you know. She's missed deeply. She's missed all the time."
She said Traykia was "happy and carefree." She was a normal teenager: she liked to listen to music, talk on the phone, baby-sit. She got into fights with her mother, Kennedy, and her grandmother would sometimes step in to mediate or to offer a place to go to cool off.
Traykia, who lived with her mother on Conley Drive in Eastport, was staying with a friend at 131 Obery Court the night she was killed.
But that night, police said there were guests at 131 Obery Court, so Traykia went to her friend's adjacent apartment to get a night's sleep. No one was home at 132 Obery Court at the time, according to 2004 articles in The Capital.
Later, a friend went to check on her, found her bleeding and went back to his friends at 131 Obery Court to tell them about it.
The oldest of five, Traykia - known to many as "Tee" - dreamed of being a hairdresser. She left Annapolis High School in December and was working toward her General Education Development test at the time of her death. She stayed out of trouble, her mother said.
Though they are faded, anger and frustration lie just below the surface for Kennedy. The person who killed Traykia "treated her like a dog" and took her away from the people who loved her, she laments.
William Johns, an investigator with the Annapolis Police Department who takes on cold cases, said he hopes someone comes forward with information.
Police have an idea of what happened, but they can't prove it because of a lack of physical evidence and a lack of witnesses. But sometimes relationships can make the difference.
"Whoever did this has assuredly told somebody," Johns said. "We need that person or those people to come forward."
This case has been with him for a long time. Johns was the original detective assigned to the case in 2004. Though he's now retired from police work, he works as a civilian looking into old cases.
"We have had people come forward in this case, we had lots of help," he said. "Got most of the pieces in place, but there's one piece missing."
Hearing rumors about her daughter's death can be frustrating for Kennedy, especially since the police have not been able to make an arrest.
Police believe Traykia might have known her killer.
"In my heart, I have a feeling of a certain someone," Kennedy said. "I can't prove it, but that's how I feel."
But rumors and feelings won't solve the case.
"We need somebody that knows what really happened," she said.
Paula Howard, a longtime resident of Clay Street and member of the Clay Street Public Safety Team, said the group is setting aside a $500 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of Traykia's killer or killers.
People still talk about the killing in the community, she said, and they were shocked when it initially happened.
"This murderer has been free for too long," Howard said.
Anyone with information about Traykia's death may call William Johns at 410-268-9000, ext. 5790.
http://www.hometownannapolis.com/news/for/2009/05/14-25/Murder-of-16-year-old-still-unsolved.html
Police hope for a break in the case 5 years later
By LISA BEISEL, Staff Writer
Published 05/14/09
Rochelle Kennedy still remembers shopping with her daughter that day in May five years ago.
They went to Old Navy, she said, bought flip-flops and shorts, and then went to the nail salon. Her daughter, Traykia Jones, picked out a lime green polish for her fingernails and toes.
Days later, Kennedy saw those fingernails and toes again - on a slab in the medical examiner's office. Her 16-year-old daughter was murdered on May 11, 2004.
At about 2 a.m., Annapolis Police found Traykia's body inside a friend's Obery Court apartment, naked in a bed. She had a gunshot wound to the head.
Though police said they were originally confident they would solve the case, no one has yet been charged with the crime.
Monday, Kennedy marked the anniversary with a trip to a cemetery on Bestgate Road where her daughter was buried. She does that sometimes on holidays and special occasions or when she just feels the need to connect with her daughter.
Though the five-year anniversary is hard, it's no harder than any other day for her family, Kennedy said.
"We always think of her," she said. "She's always around us, you know. She's missed deeply. She's missed all the time."
She said Traykia was "happy and carefree." She was a normal teenager: she liked to listen to music, talk on the phone, baby-sit. She got into fights with her mother, Kennedy, and her grandmother would sometimes step in to mediate or to offer a place to go to cool off.
Traykia, who lived with her mother on Conley Drive in Eastport, was staying with a friend at 131 Obery Court the night she was killed.
But that night, police said there were guests at 131 Obery Court, so Traykia went to her friend's adjacent apartment to get a night's sleep. No one was home at 132 Obery Court at the time, according to 2004 articles in The Capital.
Later, a friend went to check on her, found her bleeding and went back to his friends at 131 Obery Court to tell them about it.
The oldest of five, Traykia - known to many as "Tee" - dreamed of being a hairdresser. She left Annapolis High School in December and was working toward her General Education Development test at the time of her death. She stayed out of trouble, her mother said.
Though they are faded, anger and frustration lie just below the surface for Kennedy. The person who killed Traykia "treated her like a dog" and took her away from the people who loved her, she laments.
William Johns, an investigator with the Annapolis Police Department who takes on cold cases, said he hopes someone comes forward with information.
Police have an idea of what happened, but they can't prove it because of a lack of physical evidence and a lack of witnesses. But sometimes relationships can make the difference.
"Whoever did this has assuredly told somebody," Johns said. "We need that person or those people to come forward."
This case has been with him for a long time. Johns was the original detective assigned to the case in 2004. Though he's now retired from police work, he works as a civilian looking into old cases.
"We have had people come forward in this case, we had lots of help," he said. "Got most of the pieces in place, but there's one piece missing."
Hearing rumors about her daughter's death can be frustrating for Kennedy, especially since the police have not been able to make an arrest.
Police believe Traykia might have known her killer.
"In my heart, I have a feeling of a certain someone," Kennedy said. "I can't prove it, but that's how I feel."
But rumors and feelings won't solve the case.
"We need somebody that knows what really happened," she said.
Paula Howard, a longtime resident of Clay Street and member of the Clay Street Public Safety Team, said the group is setting aside a $500 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of Traykia's killer or killers.
People still talk about the killing in the community, she said, and they were shocked when it initially happened.
"This murderer has been free for too long," Howard said.
Anyone with information about Traykia's death may call William Johns at 410-268-9000, ext. 5790.
http://www.hometownannapolis.com/news/for/2009/05/14-25/Murder-of-16-year-old-still-unsolved.html