Black Girl Gone: A True Crime Podcast

On July 25, 2021, Shawtyeria Waites was celebrating her 20th birthday with friends in Houston, Texas. But after meeting a man at a nightclub and accompanying him to an apartment complex, Shawtyeria suddenly vanished. Her friends searched for her, but her phone went straight to voicemail, and no one could explain where she had gone.

That same night, a neighbor reported hearing a woman screaming inside an apartment, prompting a police response that would later raise troubling questions. As Shawtyeria's family desperately searched for answers, investigators began uncovering disturbing evidence that revealed what happened to her on the night she disappeared.

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A conviction brought accountability, but Stepha Henry’s family is still waiting to bring her home.

On this episode of Afterthoughts, Amara and Jason discuss the seventeen-year wait for trial, the sacrifices her parents made to keep searching, and the loss her younger sister, Shola, carried into adulthood. We also reflect on what justice means when the man convicted of murder refuses to reveal where his victim’s remains are.

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In May 2007, 22-year-old Stepha Henry traveled from Brooklyn to South Florida to celebrate her younger sister’s sixteenth birthday. After days of shopping, family visits, and a reggae concert, Stepha went out for one final night before heading home. She never returned.

As her family searched desperately, investigators uncovered disturbing evidence inside the car that had taken her to the nightclub. But an arrest was only the beginning of a seventeen-year wait for justice.

This week on Black Girl Gone, we share Stepha’s story, her family’s relentless fight for answers, and the painful question a murder conviction still could not resolve: Where is Stepha?

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For seven years, they called her “Baby Bones.”

In March 2005, a hunter discovered a little girl’s remains in the woods of Upper Freehold Township, New Jersey. Investigators had no name, no confirmed cause of death, and no missing-child report that led them to her identity. Someone had tried to destroy her remains—but who was she, and why hadn’t anyone reported her missing?

In 2012, her older sister came forward. The child was nine-year-old Jon-Niece Jones, and the account her sister shared would reveal a devastating story of abuse, secrecy, and the adults who concealed her death.

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Twenty years after Tiesha Sargeant was murdered inside her Brooklyn apartment, her family is still waiting for justice.

On this episode of Afterthoughts, Amara and Jason discuss the unanswered questions surrounding her boyfriend’s account, the concerns expressed by those closest to Tiesha, and how reporting about drug activity overshadowed her life and death. We also reflect on the media attention her case lost—and the devastating cost of two decades without answers.

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On Mother’s Day in 2006, 26-year-old Tiesha Sargeant was murdered inside her Brooklyn apartment. Her boyfriend told police that masked gunmen had broken in and tied them together—but only Tiesha was shot. He survived unharmed.

On this episode of Black Girl Gone, I tell Tiesha’s story and explore the unanswered questions surrounding a murder that remains unsolved twenty years later.

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In January 2010, Sony Millbrook disappeared after dropping her five children off at school and daycare. Her family immediately knew something was wrong, but weeks passed without answers.

Then, a foul odor inside the Memphis motel room where Sony had been staying led to a horrifying discovery revealing not only what happened to her, but a series of missed opportunities that allowed the truth to remain hidden.

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On June 26, 2010, seventeen-year-old Tarasha “Pooh” Benjamin left her home in Selma, Alabama, for a routine Saturday trip to the local flea market. Hours later, the SUV she had been driving was found abandoned and damaged—but Tarasha was nowhere to be found. More than sixteen years later, her disappearance remains unsolved, and her family is still waiting for answers.

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This week on Afterthoughts, Amara and Jason discuss the murders of Brandi Peters and her three children, Tamiyah, Taniyah and JaVante. They talk about the haunting details left behind inside the family’s home, the evidence that complicated the investigation, and how two juries could hear the same murder case and come to very different conclusions.

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In November 2010, 27-year-old Brandi Peters and her three young children, six-year-old twins Tamiyah and Taniyah and three-year-old JaVante, were found murdered inside their Tallahassee, Florida home.

With no obvious signs of forced entry, investigators began looking closely at the people in Brandi’s life. What followed was a years-long investigation filled with lies, unexpected evidence, competing theories, and a case that would ultimately require two trials before Brandi and her children finally received justice.

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On April 11, 2023, 35-year-old mother and teacher Rachel King was shot and killed while sitting in her car in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania. The seemingly random attack left investigators searching for a motive, but surveillance footage, a suspicious vehicle, and a complicated relationship would eventually uncover a calculated murder-for-hire plot driven by jealousy.

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In this episode of Afterthoughts, Amara and Jason discuss the abduction and murder of 28-year-old Ahrea’l Smith, who was taken after closing the convenience store where she worked in January 2022. They discuss the frightening circumstances of her abduction, the unanswered questions surrounding her connection to Tyrone Samuel, and how quickly investigators were able to identify the man responsible

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28 year-old Ahrea’l Smith disappeared on January 12, 2022, after closing the convenience store where she worked in Claraville, Virginia. The next morning, her car was found still running in the parking lot with her belongings inside. Surveillance footage captured Ahrea’l’s final movement but what happened just beyond the cameras would lead investigators to the man responsible for her disappearance.

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In the spring of 2004, twenty-four-year-old Tamika Huston disappeared from Spartanburg, South Carolina. At first, her family hoped she had simply left town. But as days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, it became clear that something was terribly wrong.

An abandoned car, a mysterious ring of keys, and a series of unexpected investigative breakthroughs would ultimately lead detectives to the truth about what happened to Tamika—and expose a calculated effort to conceal her murder.

On this episode of Black Girl Gone, I tell the story of Tamika Huston, the fifteen-month investigation that finally brought her home, and the family who refused to let her be forgotten.

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This week on Afterthoughts, Jason and I revisit the murder of Tee Swims and the heartbreaking decisions that led to her death. We discuss the warning signs in the relationship, the evidence that contradicted the killer's story, and why this case is a powerful reminder of how domestic violence can escalate behind closed doors

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In June 2021, 35-year-old Anteeatta "Tee" Swims was preparing for a fresh start. After years of trying to save her marriage, she had made the difficult decision to leave her husband and begin a new chapter. But before she had the chance, Tee disappeared.

For two days, her family received strange text messages they knew she hadn't written. Then the truth came to light.

On this episode of Black Girl Gone, I tell the story of Tee Swims, the life she built as a beloved educator, the relationship she fought to save, and the devastating events that ended her life just as she was preparing to walk away.

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On January 19, 2008, sixteen-year-old Marlisa Wells was murdered inside the Austell, Georgia home she shared with her grandparents.

Just hours earlier, Marlisa had been making plans for her future. But behind the scenes, she was navigating a secret relationship and what she believed was a life-changing pregnancy. As investigators reconstructed her final hours, they uncovered the evidence that led them to her killer.

In this episode of Black Girl Gone, we tell the story of Marlisa Wells and the devastating tragedy that forever changed her family.

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After hearing the story of Karitha Carroll and her daughter, Jamaya, join Jason and me as we unpack one of the most frustrating aspects of this case the investigation. We talk about the crime scene, the failed confession, the murder-suicide theory, and the questions that still remain almost 17 years later.

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In September 2009, 31-year-old Karitha Carroll and her three-year-old daughter, Jamaya, were found murdered inside their home in Cary, Mississippi. What followed was an investigation marked by conflicting theories, controversial decisions, arrests, and a confession that ultimately fell apart. Nearly seventeen years later, no one has been held accountable for their murders.

In this episode of Black Girl Gone, I tell the story of Karitha and Jamaya, and the long search for answers in a case that remains unsolved.

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Six women disappeared into a basement in Philadelphia.

In this episode of Black Girl Gone, I tell the story of the women Gary Heidnik kidnapped and imprisoned for months inside his North Philadelphia home and the courageous survivor whose escape finally brought the nightmare to an end.

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