Page 20 - Florida Sentinel 7-16-19

National
Founder Of African American Museum In Louisiana Found Dead In Car Trunk
Sadie Roberts-Joseph, right, before the start of Stand Up for Children rally in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 2004.
Brothers Attack Their Mother's Murderer In An Ohio Courtroom
A 75-year-old Louisiana woman who founded an African American history museum was discovered dead in the trunk of a car Fri- day afternoon, Baton Rouge police said.
A cause of death for Sadie Roberts-Joseph is not yet known, Baton Rouge police Sgt. L'Jean McK- neely said.
"Our detectives are work- ing diligently to bring the person or persons responsi- ble for this heinous act to justice," the Baton Rouge Po- lice Department said Satur- day in a Facebook statement.
Sadie Roberts- Joseph founded the Odell S. Williams Now and Then African American History Museum, now known as the Baton Rouge African Ameri- can History Museum, in 2001, according to the Advo-
cate. The museum is part of the New St. Luke Baptist Church campus on South Boulevard, where her brother serves as pastor, the outlet reported.
The website of the city’s visitor bureau says the mu- seum features exhibits on African art, growing cotton, black inventors and a 1953 bus from the period of civil rights boycotts in Baton Rouge, among other things. Baton Rouge police mourned the loss of Roberts-Joseph in its Facebook post, describ- ing her as "a treasure" to the community."
"Ms. Sadie was a tireless advocate of peace in the community," the Baton Rouge Police Department said, adding it had opportu- nities to work with Roberts-Joseph "on so many levels."
Grief boiled over into vi- olence for two Youngstown, Ohio men whose mother was stalked and murdered by her ex-boyfriend.
62-year-old Dale Williams was convicted of murdering 46-year-old Eliz- abeth Pledger-Stewart. He was in the middle of being sentenced in a Mahon- ing County courtroom Thursday (July 11) when her sons lunged for him.
Video shows both men punching the convicted mur- der. Security quickly lunged in to break up the fight with one of the men ending up being tased.
Pledger-Stewart’s fam- ily was preparing to make a victim impact statement in court when the fight broke out. The statement is heard by the judge before he ren- ders a decision about how much time the convicted man should receive behind bars.
The sentencing was post-
Screenshot of the incident in court.
poned and the killer was taken to a local hospital.
“Our deputies there in- tervened. We had extra offi- cers in the courtroom to begin with,” Mahoning County Sheriff Jerry Greene said Thursday, ac- cording to WKBN. “I’m sure they knew that there were some tensions with this sen- tencing hearing. From every- thing I can see, the officers
acted appropriately. In fact, did a pretty good job, in my opinion.”
Williams was charged in 2017 for the murder of Pledger-Stewart. Wit- nesses say in June, he ran his ex-girlfriend off the road and crashed into the back of her vehicle. He subsequently shot her repeatedly and un- loaded his weapon into her after she left her vehicle.
Georgia Mother Believes Her Son’s Death In The Dominican Republic Is Connected To The Other Fatalities
Melody Moore told WSB-TV 2 that her son, 31- year-old Tracy Jester of Henry County, flew to DR with his sister in April for a week- end getaway.
“They had a good day,” Moore told the news station. “Saturday, they went out, they explored. They said they had a good day.” Moore did note though that a soda Jester drank didn’t taste right, ac- cording to him.
Early the next day, Jester’s sister frantically called Moore to tell her that her brother had trouble breathing.
“She called me about 3:30 in the morning and she told me he was calling her saying he couldn’t breathe, just saying, ‘Mama I can’t breathe, I can’t
A mother from Georgia be- lieves her son who died in the Dominican Republic earlier this year passed away suspi- ciously, similar to a string of other reported American tourist deaths in the Car- ribbean country.
breathe,’” Moore said.
The sister quickly dialed 911 but it wouldn’t be enough as Jester died shortly afterward. His death certificate labeled the cause a respiratory prob- lem, however, Moore claims her son was perfectly healthy. She also wants to travel to where her son allegedly passed away.
"Being a mom, I want to go to where he was, where he died at last. Something is wrong, my son is gone. Something is really wrong," Moore said.
Subsequently, she called the FBI and an investigator placed her son’s name on the growing list of American tourists who have died from suspicious illness within the last 12 months in the Car- ribbean.
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