Investigation of A’Sha Rucker Death Continues Wednesday
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Rucker Family Speaks
Rucker Family Speaks
David Rogers
Published: November 25, 2009
***UPDATED***
Wednesday 11:26 a.m.
Matthew Armstrong with Greenville County Sheriff’s Office says they are in possession of a computer recovered from the Rucker residence and it has been turned over to their computer forensics people. He says this is standard for investigations like these because they police try to establish a communication timeline leading up to the event.
***UPDATED***
Monday, 9:30 p.m.
Rucker family spokesperson, Heather Holcombe, says that due to the size limitation of the church and the large amount of people expected, the funeral will not be open to the public. Holcombe says that immediate family will be the only people allowed to attend, but the family would like to thank the community for their prayers and support. Holcombe says a community-wide vigil will be held at a date they will determine.
***UPDATED***
Monday, 4:21 p.m.
Williamston Police that Chief Inman is calling Rucker’s case “murder”.
***UPDATED***
Monday, 3:40 p.m.
A woman who’s daughter attends Palmetto High School told News Channel 7 she had to pick her daughter up from the school today, due to bullying. The mother said her daughter had been friends with A’sha Rucker since middle school, and both girls have been teased and bullied continuously by other girls at the school. The mother said, it needs to be addressed, especially since the circumstances surrounded Rucker’s death are still being investigated.
Dr. Mason Gary, principal at Palmetto High School said there were reports of bullying going on at the school today, and he is investigating both sides to try to determine if it happened and if so, why. He said faculty at the school have been dealing with many emotions from students today, ranging from grief to anger. He said they have counselors at the school and 65 students participated in a session during first period where they were allowed to discuss memories of Rucker and what happened. Two banners also line the hallway, with signatures and notes from students in memory of Rucker.
Gary said he hopes more information in the criminal investigation will give students closure and stop rumors surrounding her death. He said students will also be allowed to attend Rucker’s funeral.
Rucker was very involved in the school’s chorus, according to Gary.
“She was a sweet girl, a good student and always had a smile,“ he said.
The Greenville County Sheriff’s Office said they continue to work with Williamston Police in a joint investigation into Rucker’s death. Calls to the Williamston Police Department have not been returned.
Monday, November 23, 2009
The funeral for missing teen, 17 year old A’sha Rucker, will take place at 2pm on Tuesday at New Hopewell Baptist Church on Dorchester Road in Belton.
A family friend told News Channel 7 on Sunday that the family is still in a state of shock. “You can’t describe what they’re going through they are living every parent’s worse nightmare right now,“ Heather Holcombe said. To make matters worse, she says, the family has heard rumors circulating around town that somehow the mother was invovled. “For anyone to start rumors that Lavette may be involved is absolutely ludicrous. There is now way,“ she said.
Nearly a hundred friends and classmates gathered outside of the community center where A’sha Rucker’s car was found to light candles for her Saturday night.
The body of the missing Williamston teenager was discovered early Friday evening.
Greenville County deputy coroner Scott Ramsey says that the body of 17-year old A’sha Rucker was found outside of an abandoned home on Long Cane Lane in southern Greenville County shortly before 6 pm. The remains showed signs of strangulation, but Ramsey said it may take two months for further tests to come back. According to authorities, some children were playing in the area when they noticed the body face down in the yard. “I still don’t believe it was her. It’s just too unbelievable that’s she gone,“ a classmate said.
Friends and classmates sang “Amazing Grace” during a candlelight vigil. Many of the teens wept and screamed her name during the vigil. Police were called when some classmates made accusations about what lead to Rucker’s death.
An autopsy was completed Saturday morning and the cause of death is pending further tests, Ramsey said.
Greenville County Sheriff’s spokesman Matt Armstrong says that they are treating Rucker’s death as a death investigation, suspicious in nature.
Rucker was reported missing by her family on Wednesday after she failed to show up for school or pick up her sister later in the day from school. Her belongings were found shortly thereafter along the side of the road and her car was found at the Caroline Community Center in Williamston.
News Channel 7’s Carmen Coursey spoke to the family early Friday.
Stay tuned to News Channel 7 and WSPA.com for the latest on this story.
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Reader Reactions
Hatlady…what I posted was not an attack on you or what you said! I apologize if it seemed that way! We all want to think that law enforcement is for the greater good! I would have to honestly say, that for the most part, they are! I am just so stinking mad, upset, and frustrated with this whole mess! Do I think that law enforcement could have changed the outcome, probably not. I do however, think they could have been a little more diligent and brought A’sha home, so that the family could move on with the grieving process. What this poor mother, father, and the rest of the family has been through is bad enough, without LE adding insult to injury! Upon your earlier advice, I was going to Google missing teens in SC. Thanks!
First, Please let me offer my siincere sympathy to the Mother and the other friends and family of A’sha.
Second, please accept my apology. I hear Law Enforcement criticized so often I tend to try to defend them. I had not read most of what you have just posted. I guess I was hoping they were doing their job. I do know that Mrs. Floyd, A’sha’s mother and other civilians were the ones I saw giving out the missing posters.
If families don’t push the way A’sha’s did Law Enforcement often won’t search at all for teens. They just “assume” they have run away. Still, a run away should be searched for. And when found, try to find out why they ran.
Look at this site and you will get to see the faces of some of the missing children in South Carolina that you Never hear about. I guess that is why I thought LE was working on this case.
It was actually on TV.. I haven’t heard of them working on the others.
http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=usMapSearch&missState=SC&searchLang=en_US
Please accept my apology and sympathy for the loss of the wonderful, beautiful, pricelss young girl.
I will pray for everyone that God will give the strength needed to live day to day. And that the person who took this life will be found and punished!
How can anyone commend “LE” for anything in this case? The fact is this…“LE” didn’t do JACK, until this child had been missing for 3 days (not 1, not 2, but 3 DAYS)! Whether the media has their facts wrong, or the PR people for “LE” involved, flat out lied to not look like a bunch of insensitive jerks, the info in the majority of the stories I have read, are incorrect! I was with the search party yesterday! I was absolutely appalled at the conduct of the police officers that were on the scene about noon! They stayed there long enough for a photo op with News 4 and 7, and left!!! We waited from noon until 5:45 to see what we could do to help! Williamston PD is a JOKE! It has been for the last ten years! I am not saying that all officers and agencies are bad…I have family on both Anderson and Greenville county sheriff offices, but someone dropped the ball on this one! I am very disappointed as a citizen, and infuriated as a parent! This was a child that was missing…a good kid! They did NOTHING! Had it not been for Councilwoman Gracie Floyd, what was done yesterday on Cherokee Rd would have been non-existent! Williamston is not even in Ms. Floyd’s sector! We need more reps like her! As parents and a community, we are all devastated! I do commend our community for pulling together and wanting to help! The out pour of love shown yesterday, was very touching and heartfelt! I have 4 kids that go to Palmetto, so this hit really close to home, for a lot of us! I pray that God will sustain the Ruckers during this difficult time!
Hatlady, the police were saying she threw her stuff out to throw them off. you should investigate EVERY missing person the same. Especailly when it is a child or teen. They should of been treating it like they knew they should have. How do they sleep at night knowing they told this poor girl’s family that she probally threw her stuff out to throw them off? Then to find her dead on the side of the road. How sad!! They ought to feel bad and horrible for telling her family that. Like someone else said, her mom knew something was wrong. How would they feel if it was their child who went missing and they cops told them that? Think about that! If you’ve ever had a child missing you would know how the family (especially the mother) feels now!
I agree with HORTUS..the Williamston PD did not take it seriously. And the assumption that this girl would willingly throw her stuff out the window of a car to throw police off. These small town POLICE dept. Need to step up and get with the big boys of the county and do their job. Do not assume every teenager is a runaway. I feel so sad for her mother and family. The mother knew something was wrong. Sad sad sad. What is wrong with society today? Killing each other, killing our children just a sad world now and not a place to raise children.
Williamston Police did fail miserably. I agree. This is so disturbing. The mother was trying to say “my child would not run away”. And to think they said that it is possible she threw her stuff on the side of the road purposely. Give me a break on that stupid idea. I feel for this mother and the family. These small time POLICE DEPARTMENTS are a JOKE and need to step up and run with the BIG BOYS. What is wrong with our society today. Killing each other, killing our children. Sad just sad! I wish the outcome was different.
hatlady, the girl was found dead. It sounds more like “LE” AKA Williamston Police FAILED miserably. They failed to act and failed to alert the public!
From what I could tell, they did take it seriously. If they had thought she was a runawy, they still would not be investigating it. Google South Carolina runaways and see how many of them you have ever seen on the news.
Maybe one or two. There are around 65 kids missing from SC on the missing kids website. No one ever talks about them.
I commend LE for the good job they did.
My condolences to this family suffering the loss of their precious daughter.
Everyone was treating it as if this young lady had just ran away. How did they know that something didn’t happen to her? But, now that they have found her, they are wanting to investigate it. That isn’t right. They should have treated it like that to start off with. Not just like a runaway case. They should feel bad for not doing all they could to start off with.
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