USA: Black Woman: Cekoyia Riechers sentenced to three years for dumping friend’s body
2005: Civil War II: The Coming Breakup of America
This is an American article I published on AfricanCrisis from another website.
NEW PHILADELPHIA ― An Akron woman who dumped her friend’s body after a fatal overdose has been sentenced to three years in prison for gross abuse of a corpse, failure to report a death and three counts of evidence tampering.
Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Judge Michael J. Ernest sentenced Cekoyia M. Riechers, 26, on Tuesday for crimes she committed after Amber L. Sherrell, 38, died in her home.
Assistant county prosecutor Scott Deedrick called the incident an "unfathomable tragedy."
"Everything that I’ve heard about Amber Sherrell is that she was a wonderful lady, full of life, that there was a very positive energy in her," he said. "She was obviously a daughter, a sister, a mother. I’ve even had people just approach me to say, ‘She used to do my hair. She was just the most delightful and wonderful person and now she’s gone.’"
He said the circumstances delayed her family’s ability to hold a funeral and begin the grieving process.
Riechers put Sherrell’s body along White Bridge Road in Goshen Township in the early morning hours of Oct. 26, three days after she died from an overdose. Codefendant Daniel J. Fitzgerald has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges that allege he assisted in the crimes.
Cekoyia M. Riechers is led from Judge Michael J. Ernest’s courtroom in handcuffs after being sentenced Tuesday to three years in prison on charges related to the dumping of Amber L. Sherrell’s body. Pictured at right is Riechers’ attorney Jacob T. Will.
The judge called the conduct "outrageous," noting that Riechers failed to contact the fire or police departments, who could have treated Sherrell’s body with dignity even if they could not have saved her.
Deedrick said Riechers’ actions arose from her desire to not be affected negatively from what occurred.
"She didn’t want to be inconvenienced, didn’t want to be negatively impacted so she was willing to go to these lengths," he said.
The prosecutor said Sherrell went to Riechers’ home as a friend on Oct. 23.
"About one hour after having arrived there, the defendant said that she found Amber on her knees, bent over her bed and snoring and that there was a glass tray near her with a white substance, and that Cekoyia knew Amber had used drugs in the past," Deedrick said. "At that point, she cleaned up the glass tray, disposed of the white substance, decided to give Amber some time to sleep it off."
More:Cekoyia Riechers pleads guilty to all charges
Deedrick said the snoring indicated that Sherrell was in respiratory distress.
Riechers called her boyfriend, Fitzgerald, assuming he would take care of Sherrell while she went to a pre-arranged appointment to hang out with her cousin.
"The next day, she finds out that that’s not the case. At this point, Amber is in the garage, basically with stuff thrown over her," Deedrick said. On Oct. 25, he said, they stuffed her body ― partially wrapped in plastic ― into a sport utility vehicle and dumped it along the street. Riechers’ children were around when the events at the home occurred.
Sherrell’s sister Ashley Whims cried while she told the judge about the effects Sherrell’s death and the disposal of her body had on her family. She said she had to call their mother to tell her that an unidentified body matched Sherrell’s description. She said her loss had completely changed her life and those of others who loved Sherrell.
Ashley Whims, sister of Amber L. Sherrell, reads a personal statement during the sentencing hearing of Cekoyia M. Riechers, Tuesday, Aug. 23 in the Tuscarawas County Courthouse. Riechers plead guilty in July to dumping the body of Sherrell.
"Amber was a bright, beautiful, shining light to all of us," said Ashley Whims, of Rittman. "She’s gone, never having an opportunity to battle her demons … never having the chance to turn her life around."
She said her sister’s death denied her the chance to become the mother she wanted to be to her 9-year-old son.
Whims questioned why Riechers did not call 911 after she found Sherrell was not breathing correctly, or three hours later, when she was unresponsive.
"What was she trying to hide?" Whims said. "Instead, she called her boyfriend. Once they knew she was gone, they moved her body from Cekoyia’s house to her garage. They threw her in a disgusting garage with trash, covering her with whatever they could find to conceal her from being seen and let her body lay there, decomposing, bugs crawling in her eyes and laying eggs.
"How in God’s name could they treat someone so cruelly that would literally give the shirt off her back to someone in need?" Whims asked.
She said the dolly used to move Sherrell left permanent marks across her chest and abdomen. She said her sister’s eyes were swollen and black from blood that pooled due to the way her body was left.
While Sherrell’s mother, Karen Taylor and stepfather Jeff Taylor declined to view the body at the funeral home, Ashley and her husband Chris Whims did.
"She looked terrible, an image I will never forget," Ashley said. Her voice broke as she cried and said, "There was my beautiful sister, laying on a metal cot, not breathing, heart no longer beating.
"I wanted to wrap my arms around her. I wanted to lay my head on her chest. But I was afraid to even touch her with the fear of tearing more of her skin. Instead, I gently and cautiously rubbed her shoulder, telling her how sorry I was this happened to her and how much I loved her," Ashley Whims said.
Whims said she understood that the defendants could not be charged with additional crimes because they could not be proven.
Assistant county prosecutor Deedrick said the case has unanswered questions: Where did the drugs come from? Would Sherrell have lived if Riechers had called for help? He called Riechers’ actions inexplicable, unimaginable and unfathomable.
Riechers said at the sentencing hearing that she was sorry for what she did. But after sheriff’s deputies began to escort her from the courtroom, she shouted that Sherrell still talked to her. To the assembled friends and family she said, "Y’all didn’t love her when she was alive."
Defense Attorney Jacob T. Will addresses the court during the sentencing hearing of Cekoyia M. Riechers, Tuesday, Aug. 23 in the Tuscarawas County Courthouse. Riechers pled guilty on charges related to the dumping of Amber L. Sherrell’s body.
During the official proceeding, Riechers said, "I regret what I did. I didn’t know how to handle the situation. I just didn’t know. I regret not calling the right person for help.
"I’m suffering the consequences. I have kids. They need me. They don’t have anyone else. They’re just my main concern. I couldn’t imagine being away from them for three years," Riechers said.
Ernest denied a defense request to let the defendant to remain free for a week to make arrangements for the care of her children. Immediately after sentencing, she was taken to the county jail to await transfer to a state prison.
Defense attorney Jacob Will of Canton asked the judge to sentence Riechers to probation or local incarceration. He said it would be easier for everyone because Riechers has received a subpoena to testify at her codefendant’s trial.
He said his client showed remorse and accepted responsibility by giving a full statement to law enforcement.
Judge Ernest said Riechers talked with law enforcement officers only after they cornered her, and when cooperation would serve her best.
Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael Ernest speaks during the sentencing hearing for Cekoyia M. Riechers, Tuesday, Aug. 23 in the Tuscarawas County Courthouse.
Riechers’ prior criminal history consisted of two misdemeanor thefts.
Deedrick said she failed to show remorse for her most recent offenses.
"At the arraignment, she smiled at the media, gave a little wave. She did it inside the courtroom, outside the courtroom," he said. "She did a Facebook post saying, ‘Yes, I did that. I’m not going to let this affect me negatively. The truth will come out.’"
Deedrick said Riechers tested positive for drug use twice while she was on pretrial release.
Ernest said his sentencing decision had to be supported by the facts and the law. He said state guidelines favor concurrent terms, rather than consecutive terms for each crime.
"The family, basically, has a life sentence in terms of reliving this," said Deedrick, who recommended the three-year sentence. "Forever, it will be the final chapter in Amber’s life."
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