October 8, 2024 • 43 mins
It wasn’t like 21-year-old Romona Moore to run off. Nobody knew that better than her mom, Ellie Carmichael.
In April of 2003, Romona left the Brooklyn home she shared with her mother and said she was heading to Burger King to grab dinner. She never returned.
It took days of pleading for Ellie to get the NYPD to take Romona’s disappearance seriously. By the time detectives began looking, it was too late. Romona had endured days of torture, before being discarded like trash.
This case unfolds with a series of abductions, allegations of racial bias against the NYPD, intense manhunts, and a daring attempted courtroom escape. It also raises the proposal of new legislation in response to these events.
This is Romona’s story.
____________________________________
Method & Madness is researched, written, hosted, & produced by Dawn
Music by Tymur Khakimov from Pixabay
____________________________________
REACH OUT:
methodandmadnesspod@gmail.com
CONNECT:DIVE INTO MORE:
MethodandMadnessPodcast.com
____________________________________
All sources are listed on the website, under each episode description.
MethodandMadnessPodcast.com
Thank you for listening!
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/method-madness--6241524/support.
In April of 2003, Romona left the Brooklyn home she shared with her mother and said she was heading to Burger King to grab dinner. She never returned.
It took days of pleading for Ellie to get the NYPD to take Romona’s disappearance seriously. By the time detectives began looking, it was too late. Romona had endured days of torture, before being discarded like trash.
This case unfolds with a series of abductions, allegations of racial bias against the NYPD, intense manhunts, and a daring attempted courtroom escape. It also raises the proposal of new legislation in response to these events.
This is Romona’s story.
____________________________________
Method & Madness is researched, written, hosted, & produced by Dawn
Music by Tymur Khakimov from Pixabay
____________________________________
REACH OUT:
methodandmadnesspod@gmail.com
CONNECT:DIVE INTO MORE:
MethodandMadnessPodcast.com
____________________________________
All sources are listed on the website, under each episode description.
MethodandMadnessPodcast.com
Thank you for listening!
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/method-madness--6241524/support.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
This episode contains descriptions of violence that may be disturbing
to some listener. Discretion is advised. Let's dive in. Welcome
(00:48):
to method and madness. This is indifference, the murder of
Ramona More, I'm your host, Dawn. There's a mammal that
hunts its prey by lying in wait. Sometimes the predator
works with others in teams to increase the chance of success.
(01:09):
Once their prey is close enough, the predator will use
strategy or speed to grab the unsuspecting, usually the smaller,
the more vulnerable. After they've caught their target, the mammal
will subdue and drag its prey into the darkness, where
it performs the most unsinkable acts where privacy is paramount.
(01:32):
The predator is man. Ellie Carmichael answered her phone on
May tenth, two thousand and three. She'd been waiting sixteen
days for an update and praying for good news. The
male voice on the other end of the line didn't
(01:54):
identify himself, but he expressed sympathy for Ellie. As Mother's
Day approached, he told the worried mother of one that
what she was looking for was under an old food
truck in an alley. Near fifty seventh Street in King's
Highway in Brooklyn, New York. That was only a half
mile from Ellie's home on Remsen Avenue in Brooklyn. She
(02:15):
could walk there in under ten minutes. After receiving the
cryptic message from the unknown caller, Ellie immediately called the
sixty seventh Precinct. She was told that the officer there
was alone and couldn't leave. So Ellie gathered a few
of her relatives and they headed to fifty seventh in
King's Highway, afraid of what they may find. Once they arrived,
(02:38):
they saw that it was an abandoned building. The family
waited until the police arrived. After some time, the patrol
cars pulled up. The crime scene unit was there, and
the search the outside began. Next to a hot dog truck,
mostly hidden under a blue tarp among piles of cinder
blocks and scraps of lumber, the decomposing body of Elli's
(03:02):
daughter was found wrapped in a blanket. She was naked,
her legs bound together with a blue shoelace. This case
unfolds with a series of abductions, allegations of racial bias
against the NYPD, intense manhunts, and a daring attempted courtroom escape.
It also raises the proposal of a new legislation in
(03:24):
response to these events. This is Ramona's story. Ramona More
was born on October eighth, nineteen eighty one, in Guyana,
the only child of mother Elli. They emigrated from South
(03:44):
America to Brooklyn and lived with relatives in East Flatbush,
a residential neighborhood. Ramona grew up as a sort of
home body and was known as a bookworm. She was
an honors student at Hunter College in Manhattan, studying psychology
and working part time I'M as a receptionist. In general,
she preferred the public library to a party, kept a
(04:06):
small group of friends, and had never officially dated anyone.
Although she didn't own a cell phone, Romona was good
about calling her mom to communicate her whereabouts and coming
home when she'd promised. At seven p m. On April
twenty fourth, two thousand and three, Ramona told her mom
she was walking down to Burger King to grab some
(04:27):
dinner and that she'd be home a little later. She
walked out the front door, and that was the last
time the two ever saw each other. The Burger King
was just half a block away but as the minutes
turned to hours, Ellie began to get worried when Romona
didn't return home. With no way to reach her daughter,
(04:49):
Ellie thought Ramona may have met up with a friend
and decided to sleep out that night. She'd never done
it before, but Ellie, trying her best not to think
the worst, couldn't think of any other reason for Ramona
not to come home. Ellie didn't sleep that night, and
by the following morning, nine a m. On Friday, she
decided it was time to call the police and report
(05:12):
her daughter missing. She was told to hang up and
dial nine one one instead, and at about nine thirty
two officers from the sixty seventh Precinct arrived at the house.
Upon hearing Ellie's concerns, the officers informed her that the
best course of action was to wait it out and
that Ramona would probably be home soon. She was twenty one, and,
(05:35):
as the officers explained, they weren't supposed to take down
a missing person's report on a twenty one year old
until she'd been missing at least twenty four hours. But
Ellie begged for something to be done. She insisted that
Ramona was not the type to go off and not call,
and that just the day prior, she'd signed up for
summer courses at her college. Ellie further explained that she'd
(05:59):
spoke with one of Ramona's friends, a young man who
lived nearby. He had seen Ramona shortly after she left
home the night before. She dropped off a few CDs
for him to borrow, and then told him she was
going to Burger King and she'd call him later, but
he never received that call. The responding officers relented and
(06:20):
took down the complaint, telling Ellie that it was simply
for informational purposes only it was not an official missing
person's report. Ellie was instructed to call the sixty seventh
Precinct at seven o'clock that evening if she still hadn't
heard from her daughter. The day crawled by with no
(06:40):
word from Ramona. At precisely seven PM, Ellie called the
sixty seventh Precinct as instructed, and was admonished by Detective Hen,
who told her the responding officers shouldn't have taken the
report in the first place. Unless a person is sixteen
years or younger, a missing person's report cannot be act on,
he said. Detective Hen further suggested that Ramona was probably
(07:05):
off somewhere with a boyfriend. By the next morning, at
nine thirty a m. The informational report on the missing
twenty one year old woman was closed by the NYPD.
That same day, Ellie Carmichael and four of her family
members went to the sixty seventh Precinct and spoke with
Detective Hutchinson. They asked for his help in finding Ramona
(07:28):
and asked the officer to follow up with her male friend,
as he was the last to see her, But Detective
Hutchinson repeated the same sentiment as Detective Hen. He said
there was nothing he could do, that Ramona was twenty
one years old, and then he gestured at the dozens
of flyers showing phases of missing persons that were taped
(07:49):
or thumbtacked to the precinct's wall. He asked, Ellie, do
you see how many missing people there are? Do you
think we can look for everyone? Feeling they weren't getting
anywhere and that they'd have to do their own investigation,
Ramona's family made flyers and distributed them to local businesses, pedestrians,
(08:10):
and passing cars. They hung the flyers around the neighborhood.
They showed a photo of a smiling Ramona that said
black female, twenty one years old, height, five feet three inches,
one hundred and ten pounds, last seen on April twenty
fourth at seven thirty p m. Anyone with information could
(08:32):
call Ellie's phone number. The family also contacted the media,
hoping to get the public's awareness, but nobody showed interest
in reporting on the story. Still hoping for help from
the authorities, Ellie contacted public officials to complain about the
lack of urgency and effort from the sixty seventh Precinct.
(08:53):
It was a step that any worried parent would make
and seemed to be the one thing that moved the
case forward. On April twenty eighth, Ellie received a call
from an annoyed officer at the sixty seventh Precinct who
asked her why she was calling public officials to complain
about the police. Ellie once again explained that she needed
help finding her daughter, that it was out of character
(09:17):
for Ramona to be gone for more than a few hours.
She pleaded for the police to look at Ramona's attendance
record to look at her grades. There was desperation in
her attempt to make investigators see Ramona as an individual
and not to lump her in with every runaway they'd encountered.
Despite their indifference, a detective was finally assigned to Ramona's
(09:39):
case four days after she was last seen. Detective Wayne
Carey went to the Remsen Avenue home and spoke with Ellie.
He looked at Ramona's bedroom, and, at Ellie's request, spoke
with the young man who had last seen Ramona. Detective
Carrie also stopped by the Burger King to ask the
staff if they'd seen anyone matching Ramona's description on the
(10:02):
evening of April twenty fourth. One of the employees knew
Ramona and told the detective she never came in that night.
At least a partial timeline was getting established. Ramona was
alive and well at seven thirty p m. When, according
to her friend, she left his home and headed to
Burger King. She was on foot and she knew the
(10:23):
neighborhood well. What had happened on that walk did her
friend no more than he was willing to admit. Ramona's
bank account showed that she had withdrawn sixty dollars on
the day she went missing. But there had been no
activity since if she had voluntarily ran away, as police
were suggesting, she wouldn't get very far. As Ellie prayed
(10:47):
for Ramona's safe return, she tried to think of more
people that could be interviewed. She asked Detective Carrie to
talk to a boy friend of Ramona's, a young man
that lived in Rhode Island. According to Ellie, Detective Carrie
was instantly bothered with the request, asking Ellie why she
had told him earlier that Ramona didn't have a boyfriend.
(11:10):
Ellie had to explain that it was a boy who
was a friend. It was then that she knew the
detective had made up his mind about her daughter. On
the same day that Ramona Moore was finally reported as
missing by the NYPD, a fifteen year old girl in
(11:33):
the same neighborhood was abducted outside of her high school
and held prisoner in the basement of a Brooklyn home
for over twelve hours. While held, she was raped multiple times,
her life threatened if she didn't comply. The victim, a
miner at the time, was not named publicly to enhance clarity.
(11:54):
All refer to the victim as Shay Shay's abductors, two
men in and approximately their early twenties, had lured her
into a home, where they bound her legs with her
own shoelaces, duct taped her mouth, and put a pillowcase
over her head. They told her to cooperate and warned
that if she didn't, she'd end up like their last girl,
(12:16):
who they had to kill for being too feisty. To
prove their point, Shay listened helplessly as one of the
men opened what sounded like a wooden crate, then asked
if she could smell the body of their first victim.
Sometime that night, in the darkness, silence washed over the basement.
(12:36):
The attackers had fallen asleep. Se knew this was her
only chance. She licked the duct tape on her mouth
until it came off, bit the duct tape off of
her arms and legs, and ran from the basement up
the stairs into the home. But the front door was
locked and needed a key to open. She looked around
(12:56):
for another way out and came upon an older woman asleep.
She woke the woman up and asked for help in
locking the door. The woman said no.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Say.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
Undeterred, found an exit to a fire escape and squeezed
through a window as the woman chased after her yelling.
The commotion woke one of the attackers from the basement.
He caught up to the teen, and the two struggled
down the fire escape stairs before the teen ran away
to safety. Shay went to the police and detailed all
(13:29):
she had endured at five eight zero seven Snyder Avenue
in Brooklyn. She was able to provide a description of
the two men and of the basement where she was held.
Shortly after Shay made her escape, police received an anonymous
phone call about screaming coming from that same address, five
(13:49):
eight o seven Snyder Avenue. When officers responded at the
multi family brick property, they were prepared to meet chaise
two attackers. The front door opened and a nineteen year
old man named Troy Hendrix appeared with a gun in
his hand. After a two hour stand off, Troy was
arrested and taken into custody. That same day, Detective Wayne
(14:14):
Carey had just started looking for Ramona when he received
a phone call from sex crimes detective Woody Simmons. Simmons
confirmed that the man that had just been taken into custody,
Troy Hendricks, was one of two suspects in the rape
of a fifteen year old girl named Shay. The other
suspect was his friend, twenty one year old Casson Pearson.
(14:38):
Detective Carrie now had a case take priority over Ramona's.
A search warrant was obtained, and back at Troy's home,
police found evidence that matched with Shay's story. They saw
the area where she'd been held in the basement bedroom,
and they found her metro card on the floor. Police, however,
(14:58):
did not check the small room that was in the
back of the basement. Nineteen year old Troy Hendrix shared
the home on Snyder Avenue with his grandmother, who was
later questioned by police. Troy's accompliced case on Pearson was
(15:19):
nowhere to be found. Twelve days after Troy was arrested
and jailed for the abduction and reap, Ellie Carmichael received
that anonymous tip about where to find her daughter's body.
It was May tenth, two days before Mother's Day, and
Ramona Moore was no longer missing. She'd been brutally murdered,
(15:40):
found naked, her legs bound with the blue shoelace, her
body discarded like trash next to a hot dog truck
as Ellie Carmichael's worst nightmare was coming true. The crime
scene at the abandoned building was processed and the investigation
into the murder of Ramona Moore began. In the nearly
two weeks since she had escaped from the house on
(16:02):
Snyder Avenue, police were connecting the dots and finding similarities
between the teen's case and Ramona's. After Ramona had dropped
CDs off at her friend's house, she would have walked
down Snyder Avenue and right past Troy's house, either on
her way home or on her way to Burger King.
(16:22):
The location where Ramona's body was found was just a
quarter of a mile from Troy's home. The police knew
that it was highly likely Ramona was a victim of
those same two men, and that she'd probably been killed
in that basement. Now they needed to find the evidence. Initially,
investigators were curious how Ramona was transported from the Snyder
(16:45):
Avenue home to the abandoned building. Her killer or killers
would have had to walk down a busy street, which
didn't seem plausible. But around the back of the abandoned building,
police came across an alley, and that alley could to
the back of Troy Hendrix's house. Aside from the proximity
(17:05):
of the two locations. Both Ramona and Shay had been
sexually assaulted, their mouths duct taped, with their own shoelaces
binding their legs. The police had enough cause to obtain
a search warrant for the Snyder Avenue house. Upon arriving
on the scene, they found a chain and padlock at
the bottom of an otherwise empty trash can out in
(17:28):
the yard. Tangled in the chain was a blue shoelace
that looked like a match to the one tied around
Ramona's legs. Both shoelaces matched the blue pumas that Ramona
was wearing when she went missing. Inside the house, investigators
started their search in the basement where she had been held.
This time, they combed through every room of that basement.
(17:52):
It was cluttered, dank, and dreary, a haphazard mix of
worn out furniture, junk, and old food and drink containers.
The walls were covered with unsettling images, posters and photos
depicting violence and degradation of women. An attempt had been
made to clean up the visible blood stains on the
(18:12):
concrete floor of the small room against a wall sat
a wooden box with a hinged top that resembled a
narrow coffin. Was this the crate that she had heard
being opened? Was this where Ramona had been held? Multiple
tools in that small room in the basement could have
been used as weapons, a saw, hammer, chisel, vice grip,
(18:37):
or pliers. There was blood noticeable on at least one
of the tools. After uncovering such disturbing items and seeing
the state of Ramona's body, investigators later said of all
the homicide cases they've dealt with, this one was the
most brutal, and it all happened three tenths of a
mile from Ramona's home. The police had enough evidence to
(19:01):
arrest Troy Hendrix and Cason Pearson for the abduction and
murder of Ramona Moore. Troy was already being held in
jail on assault charges for what he allegedly had done
to Shay, but his buddy Casson still hadn't been located.
A witness to the crime, however, was about to be unearthed.
A few days after investigators found Ramona Moore's body, an
(19:25):
anonymous call came into the sixty seventh Precinct from a
woman in Maryland. She said that she knew of a
possible witness to Ramona's murder, a young man who had
told people that he was visiting Brooklyn in April and
interacted with a woman chained in a friend's basement. The
details the caller provided about the crime were not yet
(19:46):
public and were specific enough to warrant a closer look.
Detective Patrick Rafferty from the sixty seventh Precinct traveled to
Maryland to find and speak with the potential witness. After
a few days, Rafferty tracked him down. His name was
Romando Jack, a twenty two year old male from Brooklyn
(20:06):
living in Maryland. This is what he told investigators. Romando
had visited Brooklyn in April, stopping by his old neighborhood
in East Flatbush, where he was raised. There, he ran
into his old childhood friend, Troy Hendricks and an acquaintance,
Casson Pearson. Troy and Caseon bragged to Romando about how
(20:28):
they quote eft a girl up and they had her
in the basement. When Romando showed disbelief, the two men
lifted their shirts to reveal the bloody t shirts underneath.
To further convince Romando, Troy and Casson brought him down
to the Snyder Avenue basement, which Troy used as his bedroom.
There they passed a joint back and forth on a couch.
(20:50):
Troy then uttered the words say what's up, bitch, and
lifted a tarp from the floor, revealing a terrified Ramona More.
She was wearing only a hood, sweatshirt and underwear, laying
in the fetal position, a chain around her neck, her
legs bound. She was bruised, bloody, her face and eyes swollen.
(21:11):
There were cigarette burns on her face. The webbing between
her fingers had been cut, and she was bandaged where
her attackers had attempted to saw off her limbs. Despite
the obvious ordeal she'd been put through, Ramona was still alive.
Troy and Casson ordered Ramona to detail what had been
done to her. She told Romando, her voice strained and
(21:35):
unsteady from crying, that the two men had taken her
from the street for fun and dragged her inside. When
she tried to escape, they began to beat her. She
was forced to detail how she'd been raped repeatedly, and
while she spoke, Troy and Casson seemed to enjoy what
they were hearing. Before Romando left the house, Troy asked
(21:56):
Ramona for her thoughts on their visitor and how he
compared to hers. Ramona answered that Romando seemed like a
nice guy and she believed he'd help her. Romanda left
Troy's home that day, went to the baby shower, and
went shopping before returning home to Maryland. He did not
contact the police about what he saw. Weeks later, during
(22:18):
an interview, this is what Romando had to say.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
And to the folks out there that said I should
have run them the police. They talking because they never
been in that predicament. So anybody could talk all of
words if they're not in that predicament. But the way
till y'all get in that predicament, then' y'all see. I
didn't know if I were to say something that they
wouldn't have called somebody on the street because they got friends.
That's why I an't do it. That's why I ain't
call the constau as soon as I left, because I
(22:46):
was scared. I was scared, so I made my shorty
uncle call anonymous. I heard they released the girl the
night that night, so I was like all right, good,
my head is clear. They found a girl, but not
knowing that the girl that they found it was another girl.
Not knowing a girl, our soul was already dead.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
I know what I saw.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
I thought I helped the girl.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
But he believed it was his girlfriend's uncle that called
Ellie Carmichael on May tenth to inform her that her
daughter had been murdered and where to find her body.
The medical examiner had positively identified the body as Ramona's
(23:27):
by using her dental records. The autopsy revealed the horrors
she endured. The base of her skull had been fractured.
She had a shattered jaw, cheekbones, nose, and other facial bones.
Her ribs had been broken, She had a fractured hip bone,
multiple bruises, and sexual assaults and cuts that indicated she
(23:48):
was assaulted with scissors and other instruments. Her fingers had
been cut off with a handsaw. Her death had been
ultimately caused by several blows to her head and chest
with a hammer. The police updated the press about the
news and misspelled Ramona's name. Let's take a break. In
(24:26):
the days following the discovery of Ramona's body, family and
members of the community showed up at the abandoned building
with photos, flowers, and candles. A handwritten sign posted next
to Ramona's school photos said when can I walk free
without the threat of violence? Faced with agonizing grief and
(24:46):
after laying her only child to rest, Ellie Carmichael was
angry over the mistreatment she'd experienced by the police. First,
they had refused to take an official report about the
disappearance based on on the established timeline of events. Ramona
had been held in that basement for four days while
(25:07):
she was being tortured and assaulted, raped, and sodomized. The
police were telling Ellie that her daughter was probably off
with a boyfriend, a boyfriend that didn't even exist. Ellie's
anger was mostly directed a Detective Wayne Carey, the officer
who ultimately was assigned to investigate Ramona's disappearance and who
(25:28):
was now investigating her murder. Ellie believed that Carrie had
shown indifference and bias, and that he didn't do enough
to locate Ramona because she was black. While the murder
investigation was still ongoing, Ramona's loved ones marched to the
sixty seventh Precinct, holding signs and chanting justice for Ramona
(25:50):
and Carrie must go. They had good reason to suspect bias.
There was a contrast and how Ramona's case was handled
or not handled, compared to that of a missing white
woman more than a month before Ramona had been abducted.
In another section of New York City, on the Upper
(26:12):
East Side of Manhattan, a forty four year old rare
book dealer named Fetlana Aronov left her home to walk
her father's cocker Spaniel. She never returned and was reported
missing later that afternoon. The following day, the NYPD held
a press conference where a large photo of Selana was
on display. Tom Fayhee, Assistant chief, told reporters they didn't
(26:36):
think Setlana left voluntarily. Her husband, Alexander Aronov, a Brooklyn doctor,
co operated with police, and he was confirmed to be
at work when his wife left the home. He was
not considered a suspect for days. Setlana's disappearance and the
details of the search appeared in New York newspapers and
(26:58):
on TV reports. In May, a little over two months
after Felana went missing, her body was found floating in
the East River. The autopsy revealed she had drowned, but
the manner of death accidents, suicide, or foul play was
not determined. Ellie and her family demanded answers. They wanted
(27:20):
to know why Ramona's disappearance wasn't treated with the same
urgency as Felana's, that if there'd been an actual search
for Ramona, she could have been found alive, that by
the time police took the case seriously, Ramona was already dead.
Ellie Carmichael spoke out many times about what she said
was mistreatment by the police, how a woman's missing dog
(27:44):
was handled with more care than Ramona. Quote. I don't
see any other reason but race and class. If this
was a white kid, they never would have done this.
I had to say to the detectives one day, you
know I feel the same emotion and pain as a
white person. Years later, in two thousand and eight, Elli
(28:06):
filed a lawsuit in federal district court against the NYPD.
The lawsuit charged the department with racial bias. It was
ultimately dismissed in twenty fourteen. The federal judge said it
lacked evidence of racial bias and there was no way
to know that A more immediate search with a bloodhound
would have found Ramona alive. Detective Wayne Carey defended himself
(28:31):
during Ramona's murder investigation. He said there's two sides to
every story, and he believed he did everything he could
to find her at Eli's request. He had questioned Ramona's friends,
he had spoken with staff at the Burger King and
canvass the area. He said he'd taken the family's computer
in for analysis. The NYPD stood by their decision to
(28:54):
hold a press conference for Stetlana but not for Ramona.
The police department's chief's spokesman, Michael P. O'loney said Selana
Aronoff had a young daughter. She had left the house
with only her keys and her cell phone, and she
was supposed to pick up her father from the airport
later that day. O looney denied that the different treatment
(29:15):
had anything to do with race or with class. While
forensic testing was conducted on collected evidence, investigators again questioned
Troy Hendrix's grandmother, who was home when both abductions had
taken place. The rape of the fifteen year old girl
and the torture and murder of Ramona More had occurred
(29:37):
right under her nose. In a televised interview with the police,
Troy's grandmother said she never heard a thing, which was
in direct contrast to what she had said. Remember, she
had asked an older woman in the house for help
and had been denied. The grandmother said that Troy's friends
would come and go, and she couldn't keep track of everyone.
(30:00):
The list of people that had failed to help Ramona
was growing. While Troy was in custody, detectives went to
multiple locations in the Bronx and Queens to try and
locate his accomplice, Kison. They visited spots where he was
known to hang out, but each time a door opened,
a resident said they hadn't seen Kaison or didn't know
(30:21):
where he was. After a few days, a tip came
in that Kayson was one hundred and fifty miles away
in Albany, New York, at his brother's home. The two
lead detectives, Wayne Carey and Mike Henris, met with the
Albany PD and found out that Kyson had a history
of arrests for drug related charges. That night, police accompanied
(30:44):
the two detectives as they arrived at Kaison's brother's house
preparing to make their arrest. Kaison's sister in law answered
the door and said she hadn't seen him, but she
was pretty sure he was down at Atlanta staying with
his girlfriend. She also described how Kson had assaulted that
very girlfriend just a year prior. Now, detectives Carrie and
(31:06):
Hendricks made travel plans to head down to Georgia. They
hopped a plane and worked with the Atlanta PD to
close in on the home where Cason and his girlfriend
were supposedly staying, but it was another dead end. Kason
wasn't there and his girlfriend told police she hadn't seen
him in weeks. Defeated, the New York investigators returned to
(31:28):
their precinct and another two weeks passed without any solid leads.
That's when friends of Kaison's contacted the NYPD and said
they were certain the wanted man was hiding out in
an apartment in Yonkers, about twenty miles away, and that's
exactly where they found Kson Pearson. Upon arrival, investigators staked
(31:49):
out the building until an eighteen year old resident arrived.
She confirmed that Kason was inside and provided officers with
a key to the apartment. Inside, Kaison had used a
bed to barricade himself inside a bedroom as officers entered
the room, Kaison emerged from a closet with a knife.
(32:09):
A Yonker's officer fired two shots, one of which struck
Kaison in the leg. He was taken to a hospital,
treated for his wound, and arrested, wearing a hospital gown
and being led toward a patrol car in handcuffs. Kaison
claimed his innocence and said he was not a rapist.
He later told investigators that Shay had engaged in consensual
(32:32):
sex with both him and Troy, and that she demanded
four hundred dollars from them or she'd go to the
police and say she'd been raped. The two men were
finally off the street. Kayson Pearson and Troy Hendrix had
twenty five total charges between them, including murder in the
first degree, kidnapping in the first degree, sodomy, and rape
(32:53):
of a corpse. In separate interviews with investigators, each suspect
implicated the other but declared their own innocence. There was
plenty of evidence and witness statements to build a case,
and after nearly three years, the trial for both suspects
began on January nineteenth, two thousand and six. It was
the people of the state of New York versus Troy
(33:16):
Hendricks and case On Pearson take one of two, Yes
you heard that correctly. Witnesses included members of Ramona's family, investigators,
Troy's friend, Romando, Jack, and Shay. The prosecution, in their
opening statement said that the defendants killed Ramona Moore for
the thrill. Presiding was Justice Albert Tommy, who yes, is
(33:40):
related to Oscar winner Marissa Tomy. Justice Tomay was also
well known in New York for other reasons, most notably
for rejecting the plea bargain of a defendant on trial
for murder in nineteen ninety seven. The judge had stated
that plea bargain provisions of the state's death penalty law
were unconstitutional. Because of that move, the death penalty is
(34:02):
no longer sought at the state level in New York.
On day one of the trial, the court heard from
Ellie Carmichael, who took the stand and answered questions about
her daughter. She expressed her disappointment with the way Ramona's
case was handled. Many of her family members watched and
listened as one of the prosecutors took Ellie's hand to
(34:23):
comfort her. Visibly shaken and distraught, Ellie had just stepped
down from the witness stand and the jury was dismissed
for a recess when chaos erupted in the courtroom. It
happened in an instant. Troy Hendrix jumped onto the defence
table and headed toward the bench. A court officer intervened
(34:44):
before Troy could reach the judge and a struggle ensued.
Someone cried out, he's going for the gun. Meanwhile, Kasson
Pearson pulled out a makeshift plastic knife and stabbed his lawyer,
Mitchell Dinnerstein, under his chin. There was a surge of
panic among the spectators, chairs overturned and people running for exits.
(35:07):
After a few minutes, both defendants had been successfully subdued
by court officers and led out of the courtroom in handcuffs.
Casson's lawyer suffered minor injuries, as did three court officers.
The incident resulted in Justice Albert Tomey declaring a mistrial.
(35:32):
It was now February of two thousand and six and
the second trial kicked off with Justice Albert tomet again presiding.
This time, his no nonsense approach to justice included not
allowing the defendants inside the courtroom. Caisson requested to represent himself,
a request that was swiftly denied by Justice Tomy. Troy
(35:55):
requested to be present in the courtroom, his counsel, promising
the court that is client would behave like a gentleman.
That request was also denied. The defendants were only allowed
to attend via satellite TV, their faces appearing in a
split screen on a TV monitor as they each listened
in from Riker's Island. Both men now faced additional charges
(36:18):
in their attempted courtroom escape. Casson was charged with attempted
murder for the stabbing of his lawyer, who refused to
appear in the courtroom and instead assisted the defense remotely.
And the defense had their work cut out for them.
Troy's lawyers, as well as Casson's lawyers, were relying on
one major defense to each prove that their client was
(36:41):
not involved with the other defendants' crimes. Troy's lawyers said
Casson acted alone. Casson's lawyers said Troy acted alone. That
defense took a massive hit after the defendants seemed to
work together in their premeditated escape attempt. After struggling through
some technical difficulties with the addition of the TV monitor.
(37:02):
The trial was underway, it was more than just a nuisance.
The victims, Ramona's family, and Shay had to sit through
another day of opening statements and graphic descriptions of what
the defendants were on trial for. While on the stand
for four hours, Romando Jack testified about the horrors that
he saw in Troy's basement when he was visiting from Maryland.
(37:26):
He answered questions about his childhood friend Troy and the
man he was only acquainted with, Caisson. He described the
defendant's demeanors in that basement as quote, they had a
smirk on their faces, like no cares. He testified that
Ramona named Troy as her abductor and Casson as her
main attacker. A theme throughout this case was the lack
(37:49):
of prompt action taken by police That led to questions
about what could have been done differently and if a
different approach would have led to a different outcome. Maybe
if police had held a press conference about Ramona, Troy
and Casson would have been scared enough to let Ramona go.
Maybe Ramona would still be alive, and maybe the two
(38:10):
men would never have had a chance to abduct and
torture Shay. Shay testified that while she was being held
in the basement, she heard her attackers say, quote, they
put people on the news for doing stupid shit like
jumping off roofs. After this, we better get on the news.
It was clear the men were desiring some notoriety. Detective
(38:34):
Wayne Carey testified and was questioned by the defense about
how he conducted his investigation. Lawyers for Casson and Troy
tried to paint a picture for the jury that the
investigation was flawed, citing Ellie Carmichael's own opinions as evidence
that the defendants should be found not guilty. On the stand,
Detective Carrie said of Ellie, quote, she said to me,
(38:57):
she didn't like the way I was handling the case
and I wasn't doing enough. I said, I've done everything
you've asked me to do. I've looked everywhere, I've talked
to everyone you wanted me to. I can't find her.
I can't find your daughter. She doesn't want to be found.
I'm not a magician. I can't pull her out of
my hat. If I could, I would, And after that
(39:19):
I have not spoken to her since. Ellie later said quote,
I hope those words haunt him until he goes to
his grave. Ellie's concerns would later prompt the proposal of
Ramona's Law, which would require that police immediately investigate the
disappearance of anyone younger than twenty five years old. At
(39:41):
the time, the NYPD's patrol guidelines were to investigate only
if the missing person was physically or mentally disabled or
under the age of sixteen. The proposed law stalled after
one hearing before the City Council's Public Safety Committee. The
trial concluded with no further courtroom chaos, and on March
(40:02):
twenty third, two thousand and six, two separate juries, one
for each defendant, returned their verdicts. Troy and Casson were
still banned from the courtroom and listened in from jail.
They were each found guilty of first degree murder, kidnapping, rape,
and sodomy for what they did to Ramona. More for
(40:23):
the abduction and attack on Chay, Both men were found
guilty of kidnapping, rape, and sodomy. The Brooklyn District Attorney,
Charles J. Hines, said in a statement, quote, I am
hard pressed to find a more evil case. I am
satisfied that these defendants will never see the outside of
(40:43):
a prison cell. Sentencing took place on April eleventh, two
thousand and six. Prosecutor Anna Sega Nicolazzi asked for the
maximum sentence for both defendants, stating, quote, they tortured her physically, sexually,
mentally for hour on hour, not ending until they took
(41:04):
her life. Each defendant was brought into court individually to
receive their sentences. Troy Hendrix, his hands cuffed and legs shackled,
was asked if he had anything he wanted to say
to the court. He responded, you got the wrong man.
When Kayson Pearson appeared in court, he spewed vulgarities at
(41:26):
Justice Tomay and the prosecution, and he told the spectators
that he'd see them in hell. The court officers that
surrounded the convicted men had no guns in their holsters
this time. Ramona's aunt, Patricia Douglas said in her victim
impact statement, quote, you saw her, you looked at her.
(41:47):
You could have smiled and let her walk by. You
could have simply said hi, but you let evil take you.
You mutilated her. The pain is unbearable. Justice Tomay's sentence
both men to life in prison without the possibility of parole,
followed by multiple terms of twenty five years. While announcing
(42:08):
the sentencing, to May said that the two convicted men
were lower than animals, as animals do not torture each other.
Thank you for listening to this episode of Method and Madness.
If you haven't already, please leave a rating or a review,
(42:30):
and don't forget to hit that follow up. To connect,
I'm on x at method Pod, on Instagram at Method
and Madness Pod, and you can find me on TikTok
and Facebook as well to chat, suggest a case, or
to discuss the episode. You can reach out to me
(42:52):
at Method a Madness Pod at gmail dot com. Method
and Madness is research written and hosts did buy me.
That's it for this week. Until next time, take care
of yourself. You matter. For crisis support, text hello to
seven four one seven four one
This episode contains descriptions of violence that may be disturbing
to some listener. Discretion is advised. Let's dive in. Welcome
(00:48):
to method and madness. This is indifference, the murder of
Ramona More, I'm your host, Dawn. There's a mammal that
hunts its prey by lying in wait. Sometimes the predator
works with others in teams to increase the chance of success.
(01:09):
Once their prey is close enough, the predator will use
strategy or speed to grab the unsuspecting, usually the smaller,
the more vulnerable. After they've caught their target, the mammal
will subdue and drag its prey into the darkness, where
it performs the most unsinkable acts where privacy is paramount.
(01:32):
The predator is man. Ellie Carmichael answered her phone on
May tenth, two thousand and three. She'd been waiting sixteen
days for an update and praying for good news. The
male voice on the other end of the line didn't
(01:54):
identify himself, but he expressed sympathy for Ellie. As Mother's
Day approached, he told the worried mother of one that
what she was looking for was under an old food
truck in an alley. Near fifty seventh Street in King's
Highway in Brooklyn, New York. That was only a half
mile from Ellie's home on Remsen Avenue in Brooklyn. She
(02:15):
could walk there in under ten minutes. After receiving the
cryptic message from the unknown caller, Ellie immediately called the
sixty seventh Precinct. She was told that the officer there
was alone and couldn't leave. So Ellie gathered a few
of her relatives and they headed to fifty seventh in
King's Highway, afraid of what they may find. Once they arrived,
(02:38):
they saw that it was an abandoned building. The family
waited until the police arrived. After some time, the patrol
cars pulled up. The crime scene unit was there, and
the search the outside began. Next to a hot dog truck,
mostly hidden under a blue tarp among piles of cinder
blocks and scraps of lumber, the decomposing body of Elli's
(03:02):
daughter was found wrapped in a blanket. She was naked,
her legs bound together with a blue shoelace. This case
unfolds with a series of abductions, allegations of racial bias
against the NYPD, intense manhunts, and a daring attempted courtroom escape.
It also raises the proposal of a new legislation in
(03:24):
response to these events. This is Ramona's story. Ramona More
was born on October eighth, nineteen eighty one, in Guyana,
the only child of mother Elli. They emigrated from South
(03:44):
America to Brooklyn and lived with relatives in East Flatbush,
a residential neighborhood. Ramona grew up as a sort of
home body and was known as a bookworm. She was
an honors student at Hunter College in Manhattan, studying psychology
and working part time I'M as a receptionist. In general,
she preferred the public library to a party, kept a
(04:06):
small group of friends, and had never officially dated anyone.
Although she didn't own a cell phone, Romona was good
about calling her mom to communicate her whereabouts and coming
home when she'd promised. At seven p m. On April
twenty fourth, two thousand and three, Ramona told her mom
she was walking down to Burger King to grab some
(04:27):
dinner and that she'd be home a little later. She
walked out the front door, and that was the last
time the two ever saw each other. The Burger King
was just half a block away but as the minutes
turned to hours, Ellie began to get worried when Romona
didn't return home. With no way to reach her daughter,
(04:49):
Ellie thought Ramona may have met up with a friend
and decided to sleep out that night. She'd never done
it before, but Ellie, trying her best not to think
the worst, couldn't think of any other reason for Ramona
not to come home. Ellie didn't sleep that night, and
by the following morning, nine a m. On Friday, she
decided it was time to call the police and report
(05:12):
her daughter missing. She was told to hang up and
dial nine one one instead, and at about nine thirty
two officers from the sixty seventh Precinct arrived at the house.
Upon hearing Ellie's concerns, the officers informed her that the
best course of action was to wait it out and
that Ramona would probably be home soon. She was twenty one, and,
(05:35):
as the officers explained, they weren't supposed to take down
a missing person's report on a twenty one year old
until she'd been missing at least twenty four hours. But
Ellie begged for something to be done. She insisted that
Ramona was not the type to go off and not call,
and that just the day prior, she'd signed up for
summer courses at her college. Ellie further explained that she'd
(05:59):
spoke with one of Ramona's friends, a young man who
lived nearby. He had seen Ramona shortly after she left
home the night before. She dropped off a few CDs
for him to borrow, and then told him she was
going to Burger King and she'd call him later, but
he never received that call. The responding officers relented and
(06:20):
took down the complaint, telling Ellie that it was simply
for informational purposes only it was not an official missing
person's report. Ellie was instructed to call the sixty seventh
Precinct at seven o'clock that evening if she still hadn't
heard from her daughter. The day crawled by with no
(06:40):
word from Ramona. At precisely seven PM, Ellie called the
sixty seventh Precinct as instructed, and was admonished by Detective Hen,
who told her the responding officers shouldn't have taken the
report in the first place. Unless a person is sixteen
years or younger, a missing person's report cannot be act on,
he said. Detective Hen further suggested that Ramona was probably
(07:05):
off somewhere with a boyfriend. By the next morning, at
nine thirty a m. The informational report on the missing
twenty one year old woman was closed by the NYPD.
That same day, Ellie Carmichael and four of her family
members went to the sixty seventh Precinct and spoke with
Detective Hutchinson. They asked for his help in finding Ramona
(07:28):
and asked the officer to follow up with her male friend,
as he was the last to see her, But Detective
Hutchinson repeated the same sentiment as Detective Hen. He said
there was nothing he could do, that Ramona was twenty
one years old, and then he gestured at the dozens
of flyers showing phases of missing persons that were taped
(07:49):
or thumbtacked to the precinct's wall. He asked, Ellie, do
you see how many missing people there are? Do you
think we can look for everyone? Feeling they weren't getting
anywhere and that they'd have to do their own investigation,
Ramona's family made flyers and distributed them to local businesses, pedestrians,
(08:10):
and passing cars. They hung the flyers around the neighborhood.
They showed a photo of a smiling Ramona that said
black female, twenty one years old, height, five feet three inches,
one hundred and ten pounds, last seen on April twenty
fourth at seven thirty p m. Anyone with information could
(08:32):
call Ellie's phone number. The family also contacted the media,
hoping to get the public's awareness, but nobody showed interest
in reporting on the story. Still hoping for help from
the authorities, Ellie contacted public officials to complain about the
lack of urgency and effort from the sixty seventh Precinct.
(08:53):
It was a step that any worried parent would make
and seemed to be the one thing that moved the
case forward. On April twenty eighth, Ellie received a call
from an annoyed officer at the sixty seventh Precinct who
asked her why she was calling public officials to complain
about the police. Ellie once again explained that she needed
help finding her daughter, that it was out of character
(09:17):
for Ramona to be gone for more than a few hours.
She pleaded for the police to look at Ramona's attendance
record to look at her grades. There was desperation in
her attempt to make investigators see Ramona as an individual
and not to lump her in with every runaway they'd encountered.
Despite their indifference, a detective was finally assigned to Ramona's
(09:39):
case four days after she was last seen. Detective Wayne
Carey went to the Remsen Avenue home and spoke with Ellie.
He looked at Ramona's bedroom, and, at Ellie's request, spoke
with the young man who had last seen Ramona. Detective
Carrie also stopped by the Burger King to ask the
staff if they'd seen anyone matching Ramona's description on the
(10:02):
evening of April twenty fourth. One of the employees knew
Ramona and told the detective she never came in that night.
At least a partial timeline was getting established. Ramona was
alive and well at seven thirty p m. When, according
to her friend, she left his home and headed to
Burger King. She was on foot and she knew the
(10:23):
neighborhood well. What had happened on that walk did her
friend no more than he was willing to admit. Ramona's
bank account showed that she had withdrawn sixty dollars on
the day she went missing. But there had been no
activity since if she had voluntarily ran away, as police
were suggesting, she wouldn't get very far. As Ellie prayed
(10:47):
for Ramona's safe return, she tried to think of more
people that could be interviewed. She asked Detective Carrie to
talk to a boy friend of Ramona's, a young man
that lived in Rhode Island. According to Ellie, Detective Carrie
was instantly bothered with the request, asking Ellie why she
had told him earlier that Ramona didn't have a boyfriend.
(11:10):
Ellie had to explain that it was a boy who
was a friend. It was then that she knew the
detective had made up his mind about her daughter. On
the same day that Ramona Moore was finally reported as
missing by the NYPD, a fifteen year old girl in
(11:33):
the same neighborhood was abducted outside of her high school
and held prisoner in the basement of a Brooklyn home
for over twelve hours. While held, she was raped multiple times,
her life threatened if she didn't comply. The victim, a
miner at the time, was not named publicly to enhance clarity.
(11:54):
All refer to the victim as Shay Shay's abductors, two
men in and approximately their early twenties, had lured her
into a home, where they bound her legs with her
own shoelaces, duct taped her mouth, and put a pillowcase
over her head. They told her to cooperate and warned
that if she didn't, she'd end up like their last girl,
(12:16):
who they had to kill for being too feisty. To
prove their point, Shay listened helplessly as one of the
men opened what sounded like a wooden crate, then asked
if she could smell the body of their first victim.
Sometime that night, in the darkness, silence washed over the basement.
(12:36):
The attackers had fallen asleep. Se knew this was her
only chance. She licked the duct tape on her mouth
until it came off, bit the duct tape off of
her arms and legs, and ran from the basement up
the stairs into the home. But the front door was
locked and needed a key to open. She looked around
(12:56):
for another way out and came upon an older woman asleep.
She woke the woman up and asked for help in
locking the door. The woman said no.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Say.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
Undeterred, found an exit to a fire escape and squeezed
through a window as the woman chased after her yelling.
The commotion woke one of the attackers from the basement.
He caught up to the teen, and the two struggled
down the fire escape stairs before the teen ran away
to safety. Shay went to the police and detailed all
(13:29):
she had endured at five eight zero seven Snyder Avenue
in Brooklyn. She was able to provide a description of
the two men and of the basement where she was held.
Shortly after Shay made her escape, police received an anonymous
phone call about screaming coming from that same address, five
(13:49):
eight o seven Snyder Avenue. When officers responded at the
multi family brick property, they were prepared to meet chaise
two attackers. The front door opened and a nineteen year
old man named Troy Hendrix appeared with a gun in
his hand. After a two hour stand off, Troy was
arrested and taken into custody. That same day, Detective Wayne
(14:14):
Carey had just started looking for Ramona when he received
a phone call from sex crimes detective Woody Simmons. Simmons
confirmed that the man that had just been taken into custody,
Troy Hendricks, was one of two suspects in the rape
of a fifteen year old girl named Shay. The other
suspect was his friend, twenty one year old Casson Pearson.
(14:38):
Detective Carrie now had a case take priority over Ramona's.
A search warrant was obtained, and back at Troy's home,
police found evidence that matched with Shay's story. They saw
the area where she'd been held in the basement bedroom,
and they found her metro card on the floor. Police, however,
(14:58):
did not check the small room that was in the
back of the basement. Nineteen year old Troy Hendrix shared
the home on Snyder Avenue with his grandmother, who was
later questioned by police. Troy's accompliced case on Pearson was
(15:19):
nowhere to be found. Twelve days after Troy was arrested
and jailed for the abduction and reap, Ellie Carmichael received
that anonymous tip about where to find her daughter's body.
It was May tenth, two days before Mother's Day, and
Ramona Moore was no longer missing. She'd been brutally murdered,
(15:40):
found naked, her legs bound with the blue shoelace, her
body discarded like trash next to a hot dog truck
as Ellie Carmichael's worst nightmare was coming true. The crime
scene at the abandoned building was processed and the investigation
into the murder of Ramona Moore began. In the nearly
two weeks since she had escaped from the house on
(16:02):
Snyder Avenue, police were connecting the dots and finding similarities
between the teen's case and Ramona's. After Ramona had dropped
CDs off at her friend's house, she would have walked
down Snyder Avenue and right past Troy's house, either on
her way home or on her way to Burger King.
(16:22):
The location where Ramona's body was found was just a
quarter of a mile from Troy's home. The police knew
that it was highly likely Ramona was a victim of
those same two men, and that she'd probably been killed
in that basement. Now they needed to find the evidence. Initially,
investigators were curious how Ramona was transported from the Snyder
(16:45):
Avenue home to the abandoned building. Her killer or killers
would have had to walk down a busy street, which
didn't seem plausible. But around the back of the abandoned building,
police came across an alley, and that alley could to
the back of Troy Hendrix's house. Aside from the proximity
(17:05):
of the two locations. Both Ramona and Shay had been
sexually assaulted, their mouths duct taped, with their own shoelaces
binding their legs. The police had enough cause to obtain
a search warrant for the Snyder Avenue house. Upon arriving
on the scene, they found a chain and padlock at
the bottom of an otherwise empty trash can out in
(17:28):
the yard. Tangled in the chain was a blue shoelace
that looked like a match to the one tied around
Ramona's legs. Both shoelaces matched the blue pumas that Ramona
was wearing when she went missing. Inside the house, investigators
started their search in the basement where she had been held.
This time, they combed through every room of that basement.
(17:52):
It was cluttered, dank, and dreary, a haphazard mix of
worn out furniture, junk, and old food and drink containers.
The walls were covered with unsettling images, posters and photos
depicting violence and degradation of women. An attempt had been
made to clean up the visible blood stains on the
(18:12):
concrete floor of the small room against a wall sat
a wooden box with a hinged top that resembled a
narrow coffin. Was this the crate that she had heard
being opened? Was this where Ramona had been held? Multiple
tools in that small room in the basement could have
been used as weapons, a saw, hammer, chisel, vice grip,
(18:37):
or pliers. There was blood noticeable on at least one
of the tools. After uncovering such disturbing items and seeing
the state of Ramona's body, investigators later said of all
the homicide cases they've dealt with, this one was the
most brutal, and it all happened three tenths of a
mile from Ramona's home. The police had enough evidence to
(19:01):
arrest Troy Hendrix and Cason Pearson for the abduction and
murder of Ramona Moore. Troy was already being held in
jail on assault charges for what he allegedly had done
to Shay, but his buddy Casson still hadn't been located.
A witness to the crime, however, was about to be unearthed.
A few days after investigators found Ramona Moore's body, an
(19:25):
anonymous call came into the sixty seventh Precinct from a
woman in Maryland. She said that she knew of a
possible witness to Ramona's murder, a young man who had
told people that he was visiting Brooklyn in April and
interacted with a woman chained in a friend's basement. The
details the caller provided about the crime were not yet
(19:46):
public and were specific enough to warrant a closer look.
Detective Patrick Rafferty from the sixty seventh Precinct traveled to
Maryland to find and speak with the potential witness. After
a few days, Rafferty tracked him down. His name was
Romando Jack, a twenty two year old male from Brooklyn
(20:06):
living in Maryland. This is what he told investigators. Romando
had visited Brooklyn in April, stopping by his old neighborhood
in East Flatbush, where he was raised. There, he ran
into his old childhood friend, Troy Hendricks and an acquaintance,
Casson Pearson. Troy and Caseon bragged to Romando about how
(20:28):
they quote eft a girl up and they had her
in the basement. When Romando showed disbelief, the two men
lifted their shirts to reveal the bloody t shirts underneath.
To further convince Romando, Troy and Casson brought him down
to the Snyder Avenue basement, which Troy used as his bedroom.
There they passed a joint back and forth on a couch.
(20:50):
Troy then uttered the words say what's up, bitch, and
lifted a tarp from the floor, revealing a terrified Ramona More.
She was wearing only a hood, sweatshirt and underwear, laying
in the fetal position, a chain around her neck, her
legs bound. She was bruised, bloody, her face and eyes swollen.
(21:11):
There were cigarette burns on her face. The webbing between
her fingers had been cut, and she was bandaged where
her attackers had attempted to saw off her limbs. Despite
the obvious ordeal she'd been put through, Ramona was still alive.
Troy and Casson ordered Ramona to detail what had been
done to her. She told Romando, her voice strained and
(21:35):
unsteady from crying, that the two men had taken her
from the street for fun and dragged her inside. When
she tried to escape, they began to beat her. She
was forced to detail how she'd been raped repeatedly, and
while she spoke, Troy and Casson seemed to enjoy what
they were hearing. Before Romando left the house, Troy asked
(21:56):
Ramona for her thoughts on their visitor and how he
compared to hers. Ramona answered that Romando seemed like a
nice guy and she believed he'd help her. Romanda left
Troy's home that day, went to the baby shower, and
went shopping before returning home to Maryland. He did not
contact the police about what he saw. Weeks later, during
(22:18):
an interview, this is what Romando had to say.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
And to the folks out there that said I should
have run them the police. They talking because they never
been in that predicament. So anybody could talk all of
words if they're not in that predicament. But the way
till y'all get in that predicament, then' y'all see. I
didn't know if I were to say something that they
wouldn't have called somebody on the street because they got friends.
That's why I an't do it. That's why I ain't
call the constau as soon as I left, because I
(22:46):
was scared. I was scared, so I made my shorty
uncle call anonymous. I heard they released the girl the
night that night, so I was like all right, good,
my head is clear. They found a girl, but not
knowing that the girl that they found it was another girl.
Not knowing a girl, our soul was already dead.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
I know what I saw.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
I thought I helped the girl.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
But he believed it was his girlfriend's uncle that called
Ellie Carmichael on May tenth to inform her that her
daughter had been murdered and where to find her body.
The medical examiner had positively identified the body as Ramona's
(23:27):
by using her dental records. The autopsy revealed the horrors
she endured. The base of her skull had been fractured.
She had a shattered jaw, cheekbones, nose, and other facial bones.
Her ribs had been broken, She had a fractured hip bone,
multiple bruises, and sexual assaults and cuts that indicated she
(23:48):
was assaulted with scissors and other instruments. Her fingers had
been cut off with a handsaw. Her death had been
ultimately caused by several blows to her head and chest
with a hammer. The police updated the press about the
news and misspelled Ramona's name. Let's take a break. In
(24:26):
the days following the discovery of Ramona's body, family and
members of the community showed up at the abandoned building
with photos, flowers, and candles. A handwritten sign posted next
to Ramona's school photos said when can I walk free
without the threat of violence? Faced with agonizing grief and
(24:46):
after laying her only child to rest, Ellie Carmichael was
angry over the mistreatment she'd experienced by the police. First,
they had refused to take an official report about the
disappearance based on on the established timeline of events. Ramona
had been held in that basement for four days while
(25:07):
she was being tortured and assaulted, raped, and sodomized. The
police were telling Ellie that her daughter was probably off
with a boyfriend, a boyfriend that didn't even exist. Ellie's
anger was mostly directed a Detective Wayne Carey, the officer
who ultimately was assigned to investigate Ramona's disappearance and who
(25:28):
was now investigating her murder. Ellie believed that Carrie had
shown indifference and bias, and that he didn't do enough
to locate Ramona because she was black. While the murder
investigation was still ongoing, Ramona's loved ones marched to the
sixty seventh Precinct, holding signs and chanting justice for Ramona
(25:50):
and Carrie must go. They had good reason to suspect bias.
There was a contrast and how Ramona's case was handled
or not handled, compared to that of a missing white
woman more than a month before Ramona had been abducted.
In another section of New York City, on the Upper
(26:12):
East Side of Manhattan, a forty four year old rare
book dealer named Fetlana Aronov left her home to walk
her father's cocker Spaniel. She never returned and was reported
missing later that afternoon. The following day, the NYPD held
a press conference where a large photo of Selana was
on display. Tom Fayhee, Assistant chief, told reporters they didn't
(26:36):
think Setlana left voluntarily. Her husband, Alexander Aronov, a Brooklyn doctor,
co operated with police, and he was confirmed to be
at work when his wife left the home. He was
not considered a suspect for days. Setlana's disappearance and the
details of the search appeared in New York newspapers and
(26:58):
on TV reports. In May, a little over two months
after Felana went missing, her body was found floating in
the East River. The autopsy revealed she had drowned, but
the manner of death accidents, suicide, or foul play was
not determined. Ellie and her family demanded answers. They wanted
(27:20):
to know why Ramona's disappearance wasn't treated with the same
urgency as Felana's, that if there'd been an actual search
for Ramona, she could have been found alive, that by
the time police took the case seriously, Ramona was already dead.
Ellie Carmichael spoke out many times about what she said
was mistreatment by the police, how a woman's missing dog
(27:44):
was handled with more care than Ramona. Quote. I don't
see any other reason but race and class. If this
was a white kid, they never would have done this.
I had to say to the detectives one day, you
know I feel the same emotion and pain as a
white person. Years later, in two thousand and eight, Elli
(28:06):
filed a lawsuit in federal district court against the NYPD.
The lawsuit charged the department with racial bias. It was
ultimately dismissed in twenty fourteen. The federal judge said it
lacked evidence of racial bias and there was no way
to know that A more immediate search with a bloodhound
would have found Ramona alive. Detective Wayne Carey defended himself
(28:31):
during Ramona's murder investigation. He said there's two sides to
every story, and he believed he did everything he could
to find her at Eli's request. He had questioned Ramona's friends,
he had spoken with staff at the Burger King and
canvass the area. He said he'd taken the family's computer
in for analysis. The NYPD stood by their decision to
(28:54):
hold a press conference for Stetlana but not for Ramona.
The police department's chief's spokesman, Michael P. O'loney said Selana
Aronoff had a young daughter. She had left the house
with only her keys and her cell phone, and she
was supposed to pick up her father from the airport
later that day. O looney denied that the different treatment
(29:15):
had anything to do with race or with class. While
forensic testing was conducted on collected evidence, investigators again questioned
Troy Hendrix's grandmother, who was home when both abductions had
taken place. The rape of the fifteen year old girl
and the torture and murder of Ramona More had occurred
(29:37):
right under her nose. In a televised interview with the police,
Troy's grandmother said she never heard a thing, which was
in direct contrast to what she had said. Remember, she
had asked an older woman in the house for help
and had been denied. The grandmother said that Troy's friends
would come and go, and she couldn't keep track of everyone.
(30:00):
The list of people that had failed to help Ramona
was growing. While Troy was in custody, detectives went to
multiple locations in the Bronx and Queens to try and
locate his accomplice, Kison. They visited spots where he was
known to hang out, but each time a door opened,
a resident said they hadn't seen Kaison or didn't know
(30:21):
where he was. After a few days, a tip came
in that Kayson was one hundred and fifty miles away
in Albany, New York, at his brother's home. The two
lead detectives, Wayne Carey and Mike Henris, met with the
Albany PD and found out that Kyson had a history
of arrests for drug related charges. That night, police accompanied
(30:44):
the two detectives as they arrived at Kaison's brother's house
preparing to make their arrest. Kaison's sister in law answered
the door and said she hadn't seen him, but she
was pretty sure he was down at Atlanta staying with
his girlfriend. She also described how Kson had assaulted that
very girlfriend just a year prior. Now, detectives Carrie and
(31:06):
Hendricks made travel plans to head down to Georgia. They
hopped a plane and worked with the Atlanta PD to
close in on the home where Cason and his girlfriend
were supposedly staying, but it was another dead end. Kason
wasn't there and his girlfriend told police she hadn't seen
him in weeks. Defeated, the New York investigators returned to
(31:28):
their precinct and another two weeks passed without any solid leads.
That's when friends of Kaison's contacted the NYPD and said
they were certain the wanted man was hiding out in
an apartment in Yonkers, about twenty miles away, and that's
exactly where they found Kson Pearson. Upon arrival, investigators staked
(31:49):
out the building until an eighteen year old resident arrived.
She confirmed that Kason was inside and provided officers with
a key to the apartment. Inside, Kaison had used a
bed to barricade himself inside a bedroom as officers entered
the room, Kaison emerged from a closet with a knife.
(32:09):
A Yonker's officer fired two shots, one of which struck
Kaison in the leg. He was taken to a hospital,
treated for his wound, and arrested, wearing a hospital gown
and being led toward a patrol car in handcuffs. Kaison
claimed his innocence and said he was not a rapist.
He later told investigators that Shay had engaged in consensual
(32:32):
sex with both him and Troy, and that she demanded
four hundred dollars from them or she'd go to the
police and say she'd been raped. The two men were
finally off the street. Kayson Pearson and Troy Hendrix had
twenty five total charges between them, including murder in the
first degree, kidnapping in the first degree, sodomy, and rape
(32:53):
of a corpse. In separate interviews with investigators, each suspect
implicated the other but declared their own innocence. There was
plenty of evidence and witness statements to build a case,
and after nearly three years, the trial for both suspects
began on January nineteenth, two thousand and six. It was
the people of the state of New York versus Troy
(33:16):
Hendricks and case On Pearson take one of two, Yes
you heard that correctly. Witnesses included members of Ramona's family, investigators,
Troy's friend, Romando, Jack, and Shay. The prosecution, in their
opening statement said that the defendants killed Ramona Moore for
the thrill. Presiding was Justice Albert Tommy, who yes, is
(33:40):
related to Oscar winner Marissa Tomy. Justice Tomay was also
well known in New York for other reasons, most notably
for rejecting the plea bargain of a defendant on trial
for murder in nineteen ninety seven. The judge had stated
that plea bargain provisions of the state's death penalty law
were unconstitutional. Because of that move, the death penalty is
(34:02):
no longer sought at the state level in New York.
On day one of the trial, the court heard from
Ellie Carmichael, who took the stand and answered questions about
her daughter. She expressed her disappointment with the way Ramona's
case was handled. Many of her family members watched and
listened as one of the prosecutors took Ellie's hand to
(34:23):
comfort her. Visibly shaken and distraught, Ellie had just stepped
down from the witness stand and the jury was dismissed
for a recess when chaos erupted in the courtroom. It
happened in an instant. Troy Hendrix jumped onto the defence
table and headed toward the bench. A court officer intervened
(34:44):
before Troy could reach the judge and a struggle ensued.
Someone cried out, he's going for the gun. Meanwhile, Kasson
Pearson pulled out a makeshift plastic knife and stabbed his lawyer,
Mitchell Dinnerstein, under his chin. There was a surge of
panic among the spectators, chairs overturned and people running for exits.
(35:07):
After a few minutes, both defendants had been successfully subdued
by court officers and led out of the courtroom in handcuffs.
Casson's lawyer suffered minor injuries, as did three court officers.
The incident resulted in Justice Albert Tomey declaring a mistrial.
(35:32):
It was now February of two thousand and six and
the second trial kicked off with Justice Albert tomet again presiding.
This time, his no nonsense approach to justice included not
allowing the defendants inside the courtroom. Caisson requested to represent himself,
a request that was swiftly denied by Justice Tomy. Troy
(35:55):
requested to be present in the courtroom, his counsel, promising
the court that is client would behave like a gentleman.
That request was also denied. The defendants were only allowed
to attend via satellite TV, their faces appearing in a
split screen on a TV monitor as they each listened
in from Riker's Island. Both men now faced additional charges
(36:18):
in their attempted courtroom escape. Casson was charged with attempted
murder for the stabbing of his lawyer, who refused to
appear in the courtroom and instead assisted the defense remotely.
And the defense had their work cut out for them.
Troy's lawyers, as well as Casson's lawyers, were relying on
one major defense to each prove that their client was
(36:41):
not involved with the other defendants' crimes. Troy's lawyers said
Casson acted alone. Casson's lawyers said Troy acted alone. That
defense took a massive hit after the defendants seemed to
work together in their premeditated escape attempt. After struggling through
some technical difficulties with the addition of the TV monitor.
(37:02):
The trial was underway, it was more than just a nuisance.
The victims, Ramona's family, and Shay had to sit through
another day of opening statements and graphic descriptions of what
the defendants were on trial for. While on the stand
for four hours, Romando Jack testified about the horrors that
he saw in Troy's basement when he was visiting from Maryland.
(37:26):
He answered questions about his childhood friend Troy and the
man he was only acquainted with, Caisson. He described the
defendant's demeanors in that basement as quote, they had a
smirk on their faces, like no cares. He testified that
Ramona named Troy as her abductor and Casson as her
main attacker. A theme throughout this case was the lack
(37:49):
of prompt action taken by police That led to questions
about what could have been done differently and if a
different approach would have led to a different outcome. Maybe
if police had held a press conference about Ramona, Troy
and Casson would have been scared enough to let Ramona go.
Maybe Ramona would still be alive, and maybe the two
(38:10):
men would never have had a chance to abduct and
torture Shay. Shay testified that while she was being held
in the basement, she heard her attackers say, quote, they
put people on the news for doing stupid shit like
jumping off roofs. After this, we better get on the news.
It was clear the men were desiring some notoriety. Detective
(38:34):
Wayne Carey testified and was questioned by the defense about
how he conducted his investigation. Lawyers for Casson and Troy
tried to paint a picture for the jury that the
investigation was flawed, citing Ellie Carmichael's own opinions as evidence
that the defendants should be found not guilty. On the stand,
Detective Carrie said of Ellie, quote, she said to me,
(38:57):
she didn't like the way I was handling the case
and I wasn't doing enough. I said, I've done everything
you've asked me to do. I've looked everywhere, I've talked
to everyone you wanted me to. I can't find her.
I can't find your daughter. She doesn't want to be found.
I'm not a magician. I can't pull her out of
my hat. If I could, I would, And after that
(39:19):
I have not spoken to her since. Ellie later said quote,
I hope those words haunt him until he goes to
his grave. Ellie's concerns would later prompt the proposal of
Ramona's Law, which would require that police immediately investigate the
disappearance of anyone younger than twenty five years old. At
(39:41):
the time, the NYPD's patrol guidelines were to investigate only
if the missing person was physically or mentally disabled or
under the age of sixteen. The proposed law stalled after
one hearing before the City Council's Public Safety Committee. The
trial concluded with no further courtroom chaos, and on March
(40:02):
twenty third, two thousand and six, two separate juries, one
for each defendant, returned their verdicts. Troy and Casson were
still banned from the courtroom and listened in from jail.
They were each found guilty of first degree murder, kidnapping, rape,
and sodomy for what they did to Ramona. More for
(40:23):
the abduction and attack on Chay, Both men were found
guilty of kidnapping, rape, and sodomy. The Brooklyn District Attorney,
Charles J. Hines, said in a statement, quote, I am
hard pressed to find a more evil case. I am
satisfied that these defendants will never see the outside of
(40:43):
a prison cell. Sentencing took place on April eleventh, two
thousand and six. Prosecutor Anna Sega Nicolazzi asked for the
maximum sentence for both defendants, stating, quote, they tortured her physically, sexually,
mentally for hour on hour, not ending until they took
(41:04):
her life. Each defendant was brought into court individually to
receive their sentences. Troy Hendrix, his hands cuffed and legs shackled,
was asked if he had anything he wanted to say
to the court. He responded, you got the wrong man.
When Kayson Pearson appeared in court, he spewed vulgarities at
(41:26):
Justice Tomay and the prosecution, and he told the spectators
that he'd see them in hell. The court officers that
surrounded the convicted men had no guns in their holsters
this time. Ramona's aunt, Patricia Douglas said in her victim
impact statement, quote, you saw her, you looked at her.
(41:47):
You could have smiled and let her walk by. You
could have simply said hi, but you let evil take you.
You mutilated her. The pain is unbearable. Justice Tomay's sentence
both men to life in prison without the possibility of parole,
followed by multiple terms of twenty five years. While announcing
(42:08):
the sentencing, to May said that the two convicted men
were lower than animals, as animals do not torture each other.
Thank you for listening to this episode of Method and Madness.
If you haven't already, please leave a rating or a review,
(42:30):
and don't forget to hit that follow up. To connect,
I'm on x at method Pod, on Instagram at Method
and Madness Pod, and you can find me on TikTok
and Facebook as well to chat, suggest a case, or
to discuss the episode. You can reach out to me
(42:52):
at Method a Madness Pod at gmail dot com. Method
and Madness is research written and hosts did buy me.
That's it for this week. Until next time, take care
of yourself. You matter. For crisis support, text hello to
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