Page 7 - Florida Sentinel 2-4-22

National
After 51 Years In Prison,
Miss USA 2019 Cheslie Kryst's Cause Of Death Confirmed By Coroner
Louisiana's Longest-Serving
Cheslie Kryst's cause of death has been confirmed fol- lowing an autopsy Monday.
The former Miss USA's death has been ruled a suicide, the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner confirmed Tuesday. She was 30 years old.
Following her death Sunday, the family remembered her for inspiring others "around the world with her beauty and strength," they wrote in a state- ment.
"Cheslie embodied love and served others, whether through her work as an attorney fighting for social justice, as Miss USA and as a host on Extra. But most importantly, as a daughter, sis- ter, friend, mentor and colleague – we know her impact will live on," they added.
Kryst, who was also an attor- ney with an MBA, was crowned Miss USA as Miss North Car- olina in May 2019. She went on to finish in the top 10 of the Miss Universe 2019 competition.
That year, she and three other
Incarcerated Woman Is Free
Jan. 25, 2022, was the day Gloria Williams, Louisiana’s longest-serving incarcerated woman, had long been dreaming of.
After 51 years in prison, the 76- year-old had been granted pa- role. Within hours, she walked out of the gates of the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women and into the jubilant hugs of her friends and family— including her sister Mary Smith-Moore.
“Over the years, I’ve talked to her, visited her, emailed her,” Smith-Moore told The Appeal. “But to have her touch my face and me be able to hug her, it’s just unexplainable, that emo- tion, that feeling that you can touch your sister.”
In 1971, Williams, then 25, was arrested in Opelousas, Louisiana, after she and two oth- ers tried to rob a grocery store
GLORIA WILLIAMS
CHESLIE KRYST
women — Nia Imani Franklin (Miss America) Kaliegh Garris (Miss Teen USA) and Zozibini Tunzi (Miss Universe) — be- came the first group of Black women in pageant history to hold all four major titles in a sin- gle year.
The Miss Universe organiza- tion also remembered Kryst for her "kind" spirit.
"The Miss Universe and Miss USA Organizations are devas- tated to learn about the loss of Miss USA 2019 Cheslie Kryst," they wrote in a statement.
using a toy gun she’d taken from her son. During a struggle with the store’s owner, Budge Cutr- era, Williams’s co-defendant, a 16-year-old girl, fatally shot Cutrera with a firearm he kept behind the counter. Nine months later, all three were sen- tenced to life without parole.
While incarcerated, Williams became involved with the prison ministry and the Big Sisters program, in which long- termers mentor newly-arrived women. Through her counseling and mentoring, Williams earned the nickname “Mama Glo.”
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4 , 2022 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY PAGE 7-A