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I am a proud Crime Junkie.

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According to the official Crime Junkie Podcast website,

"Crime Junkie is a weekly true crime podcast dedicated to giving you a fix. Every Monday, Ashley Flowers will tel you about whatever crime she's been obsessing over that week in a way that sounds like you're sitting around talking crime with your best friends. The storytelling is straightforward and free of rabbit holes so the cases stay suspenseful and easy to follow. If you can never get enough true crime...Congratulations, you're a Crime Junkie!"

The reason why I am bringing up the popular true-crime podcast is due to a recent episode that focuses on the murder of Shakara Carter.

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Back in 1994, there was a string of murders throughout Grand Rapids and authorities were trying to figure out if they were connected to each other. In March of 2007, Shakara Carter, a 33-year-old young mother, was found by an industrial worker on the 600 block of Chestnut. She had been strangled to death. The episode summary reads:

"When Shakara Carter is found strangled to death on a dead-end road in Grand Rapids, Michigan, she's days away from testifying against a serial rapist. But she's also one of about two dozen sex workers killed in the area over the years...and unlike some of those victims, Shakara's killer is elusive."

Three days before her tragic death, she was supposed to begin testifying in a sexual assault case. Unfortunately, with little to no leads, the search for Shakara's killer has been ongoing for the past 15 years.

 

 

 

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Ashley Flowers, the creator of Crime Junkie spoke with Grand Rapids Police Chief, Eric Winstrom after their Freedom of Information Act requests were unanswered because of a backlog with the police department.

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After the conversation, Winstrom reviewed Shakara's file and found that Shakara's DNA had not been tested against one of the suspects. Winstrom says he will complete a test so the community knows these cases are not forgotten.

If you have any information about Shakara’s case, you are asked to contact the Grand Rapids Police Department at 616-456-3400.

If you want to listen to the full episode, check out the Crime Junkie episode.