Death of Chanel Petro-Nixon
Chanel Petro-Nixon was a young, Black, African American female who was a 16 year old Honors student and who was murdered in June of 2006.
Life
Chanel Petro-Nixon was born in 1989. She lived in the Bedford Styvesant section of Brooklyn, New York and she was a member of the Mt. of Olives Seventh-day Adventist Church on Bushwick Avenue. She was considered devout (See Devotion) by her family in regards to her church and prayer attendance. She was also a 10th grader at Boys and Girls High School and was known as a straight-A student who spent her after-school hours in the library. According to Nancy Grace of CNN "She wanted to become a nurse to help other people". (See CNN link below).
Events leading up to her murder
On Sunday, June 18, 2006, which was a 'Father's Day', Chanel Petro-Nixon had left her home which included family members Garvin, her father; Lucita Nixon, her mother; Marcus and Giovanni, her brothers; and decided to walk to a nearby Applebee's restaurant to fill out a job application. She was not seen or heard from again for four days. Her body was later discovered in a trash bag in front of 212 Kingston Avenue. It was later determined that Chanel had been strangled.
Chanel's case is being investigated by the 77th Precinct. Thus far, there are no leads and no arrests. Her killer has not been identified (See reference for Identification in Wikipedia), nor has anyone in the neighborhood come forward as a witness in the case. There was, however, no evidence of any sexual assault, torture or any marks found on Chanel's body. Her body was reported as being 'decomposed' in at least one news report. Also, the timeline in her murder appears puzzling to some.
Chanel had left home around 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 18, 2006, then went missing. She was later found on June 22, 2006 around 8:30 a.m. (See Deaths in June 2006). The Medical Examiner estimates Chanel's time of death at less than 24 hours before her body was discovered. Questions are being asked by some people such as: 'where she was when she went missing up until the time she was killed', and 'where was she strangled'? It is felt by those involved in her murder that someone, perhaps in her own neighborhood, knows some of the facts, but no one thus far has come forward.
Possible suspect
In at least one article on the internet, one writer mentions Draymond Coleman as a possible suspect because of the similarities of the crimes, comparing Petro-Nixon to the murder of Jennifer Moore, also in 2006.
Other clues: her cell phone and sneakers
A later article in the New York Daily News focused on her white sneakers, with the hope that someone would have recognized her shoes.
"COPS HOPE A PHOTO of 16-year-old Chanel Petro-Nixon's white sneakers will jog a witness' memory and help investigators track down the Brooklyn girl's killer."
To further quote the same article:
"But the white sneakers she had been wearing when she left home were missing as was her cell phone. Detectives hope someone will call with information when they see photos of the missing Nike Air Jordan Retro 14 sneakers. The size 6 1/2 shoes have green trim. "AMW" will also show photos of her Sanyo Sprint 8200 phone. "Maybe soneone remembers seeing the shoes on a rooftop or the cell phone in someone's home," (Jon) Lieberman (producer of America's Most Wanted) said. "The family is looking for justice.""
Reward for information leading to Petro-Nixon's killer
Initial reward information
It was reported in the August 11, 2006 edition of the New York Daily News that:
"The Daily News has joined with the city and several private organizations to offer nearly $30,000 in reward money for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Chanel's killer. The News also has paid to print hundreds of posters calling for the public to help catch the killer. Cops asked anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential."
Further information
Later on, the reward amount was apparently increased. The New York City Police Department interviewed all of Chanel's friends and collected hundreds of tips. A $38,000 reward for useful information was given. There is a poster featuring Chanel's face peering out from a window of a McDonald's restaurant on Fulton Street, offering a $22,000 reward. The fund represents contributions by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, The New York Daily News, The Reverend Al Sharpton and the Police Department. There has been no claim to the reward.
The reaction of the family and friends
It was reported that Chanel's father, Garvin, is alienated from his neighborhood. He is quoted as saying: "I don't trust anybody," and "That person shaking your hand, smiling in your face, could be the one who did this".
Chanel's mother, Lucita, takes a different viewpoint. To quote from the New York Daily News: "I won't let anger poison me".
Her cousin, Errol Wilson, was quoted in a New York Daily News article as saying "She was beautiful inside and out". "She had an inner beauty you rarely find. ... It's a terrible situation, and hopefully the police will do their job." He also said: "She rarely went out,"; "She didn't hang out. She didn't want to."
A teen friend of hers had said: "She would never do anything wrong", and then further added that they had read the book, "The Da Vinci Code", together. "She had good grades. I would call her the 'little nerd.'"
Aftermath
As of July, 2007, the case has still not been solved. There are currently no witnesses known to have witnessed her murder, nor any suspects that have been identified. The Reverend Al Sharpton has joined with the television show, America's Most Wanted, in trying to solve the mystery of her murder. He has used strong language directed to the Black Community in presenting the case of her murder. See the Websleuths footnote below for further discussion.
Other year 2006 student murder victims
External links
[1] “4 Real Women International, Inc.” website, mentioning Chanel’s mother, Lucita Petro-Nixon, in the upcoming “First Annual "Survivors" Awards” to be held in January, 2008, as one of the Recipients
[2] The Theologians Cafe at Zanga.com. Last Comment on 06/25/2007.
[3] New York Daily News article titled: "Follow every single lead", subtitled: "'Runaways' may be murder victims. Cops & neighbors must step it up" by Errol Louis; dated June 24, 2007.
[4] The National Action Network - Press Releases mentioning Saturday, June 23, 2007 Meeting at 10:00 a.m.
[5] CNN Transcripts, webpage features an article by Nancy Grace titled: "Murder of Brooklyn 16-year-old still Unsolved" (NOTE: Rush Transcript notice) which was aired January 1, 2007 at 20:00:00 Eastern Time.
[6] New York Post article titled: "Year of Tears for Slain Teen", subtitled: "'Too Black' for City to Really Care" by Andrea Peyser; dated: June 18, 2007.
[7] YouTube Website Slideshow titled: "R.I.P Chanel I really miss you". Added: December 11, 2006 from ladytigger87.
[8] New York Times (Archives) article titled: "The Neediest Cases; After a Daughter's Death, Seeking Answers and the Strength to Go On" by Jennifer Mascia; dated: November 28, 2006.
[9] New York Daily News article titled: It's Time To Tame The Beast. Chanel's Killer is still free. There's a spike in Murder. Now, Crown Heights must speak up. by E. Louis; dated: Friday, November 24, 2006.
[10] New York Daily News article titled: "Our War On Murder" - NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly discusses crackdowns on killings in the City; dated: November 20, 2006.
[11] New York Daily News article titled: "Cops ask if Slays are tied"; dated: dated November 20, 2006.
[12] YouTube Website video titled: "Unknown Chanel Petro-Nixon Killer" video featuring Reverend Al Sharpton. From: amwcrimetv; Added: November 06, 2006.
[13] New York Daily News article titled: "It's Time to Speak Up". dated: Tuesday, October 10th 2006, 12:00 A.M.,
[14] My Crime Space website link titled: "Possible Suspect in Chanel Petro-Nixon's Murder" by Trench on August 29th, 2006.
[15] Bonnie's Blog of Crime website, article Titled: "Chanel Petro-Nixon Murder"; dated: August 12, 2006.
[16] African American (Black) Opinion.com website with article “Brutal Murder of "Perfect" Kid”; dated: Friday, August 11, 2006.
[17] Chanel Petro-Nixon and a photograph of her on Findagrave.com; comment by Stacey; dated: August 2, 2006.
[18] SaxTalk Website article titled: "Honors Student Murdered. SaxTalk wants to help"; by Rex R. Djere; post dated: August 1, 2006.
[19] Websleuths discussion of the murder of Chanel Petro-Nixon and the Reverend Al Sharpton's involvement in the case (NOTE: last posting was July 31, 2006).
[20] NAACP - Brooklyn website with letter dated July 7, 2006 addressed to Raymond W. Kelly, Commissioner, Re: 'Urgent Request for Meeting'; signed by Karen Boykin-Towns, President.
[21]. An article in the "Crime and Justice", U.S. section in the forums website, using a July 5, 2006 New York Daily News article written by Kerry Burke, Jess Wisloski and Rich Schapiro; comments from Chanel's cousin, Erroll Wilson.
[22] Americas Most Wanted article on TV Show website titled, "Unknown Chanel Petro-Nixon Killer"; updated June 18, 2006.
[23] Gawker.com article titled: "Today in Pretty White Girls in Jeopardy" comparing the deaths of Imette St. Guillen, Ramona Moore, Jennifer Moore, and Chanel Petro-Nixon.
Newspaper References
- New York Post, Saturday, July 29, 2006 -- article on page 5 by Andrea Peyser titled: "It's open season on young gals."
- New York Daily News, Friday, August 11, 2006 -- article on page 14 by Alison Gendar titled: "Hoping sneakers track killer."