WLBT 3 - Jackson, MS: Family members of murdered mother, toddler talk

Family members of murdered mother, toddler talk

By Cheryl Lasseter - bio | email

CARY, MS (WLBT) - Verda Carroll's memories of her 31-year-old daughter Karitha come out softly.

"Easygoing person. Got along with everyone. Hard worker. Took care of her kids," she says.

And she can barely get the words out about her granddaughter, 3-year-old Jamia, affectionately called China. "She was joyful," Verda tells us.

Verda struggles to accept the horror of what happened.

Family members hadn't heard from Karitha Wednesday, so an uncle entered their home on Highway 61 in Cary. He found Karitha dead with multiple stab wounds. Little Jamia had also been killed.

Family members say Karitha wouldn't open the door for anyone.  But Verda tells us there are no signs of forced entry on the home. It seems Karitha may have opened the door to the person who would eventually kill her and her young child.

Karitha's best friend, Tamika, is also Jamia's aunt.  Tamika says the murder victim had a boyfriend named Kevin, and Jamia's father lived close by in Cary. But none of the family members or friends we talked to have reason to suspect either one of them.

We asked Tamika if Karitha ever spoke about someone giving her trouble.  "No ma'am," she said.

Karitha worked at a Double Quick gas station/convenience store in Rolling Fork.  No one there could offer insight.

Karitha is survived by two older children, a boy and a girl, that live with Verda. 

The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation has given no indication it's close to an arrest in the murder of mother and child... murders that have ripped holes in so many hearts.

"Everyone has their ups and downs. That was my friend 'til the end," Tamika says.

"They didn't have to do 'em like that. The baby wouldn't have did nothing to 'em," Verda says.