Former Rare Staff
A 15-year-old boy who lost four family members in a tragic quadruple homicide in upstate New York fears for his safety and is worried that the murder suspect, who is still on the loose, may have plans for him next.
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Isaiah Smith was not home at the time of the slayings, which took the lives of his mother Shanta Myers; siblings Jeremiah, 11, and Shanise, 5; and his mother’s 22-year-old partner Brandi Mells. Now, he’s worried that whoever killed them may come looking for him.
“I’m scared to go to the corner store,” Smith said in an interview after his family was discovered on the day after Christmas. “I’m not sure if they’re coming for me next.”
Police have not provided much information on what happened to Smith’s relatives, but believe the killings were targeted. The victims were reportedly found tied up with their throats slit. Neither a suspect nor a motive has yet been determined, and Victory Christian Church of Albany is offering a $5,000 reward for anyone who has information that may lead to an arrest.
“People are very nervous, very concerned that the person who did this crime is still loose,” said Rev. Jackie Robinson, a member of the city’s African American Pastoral Alliance. “We’re talking about organizing a meeting and inviting the whole community to come and share their concerns, with counselors to try to relieve people of stress and anxiety.”
Myers’s sister Shakera Symes is now raising Smith, who had already been staying with her for the past two months. She is now pleading with the public to help police catch the murderer.
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“Give the information to the authorities so that they can help find the person who has destroyed us, emotionally, mentally,” she told to the Times Union. “It feels like somebody has ripped us to shreds.”
“It’s going to devastate us for a very, very long time. And to have to raise the oldest, knowing he lost his entire family that day … that’s not a job that’s going to be easy for me,” she continued. “My sister was supposed to be with me and her children, all three of them, for Christmas and I got robbed of that opportunity.”
