Found Deceased IL - Semaj Crosby, 16 mos, Joliet Township, 25 April 2017

[MsMarple]

Det. R.J. Austin of the Will County Sheriff's Office who has been the lead detective on Sema'j's case since she went missing, met with the Justice for Sema'j Action Team on Thursday at St. John Missionary Baptist Church in Joliet. A member of the team, Dietra Jones, posted an 18-minute long video of Austin answering questions from about 20 people on Facebook.

“There was four women at that house the day Sema'j went missing,” Austin said in the video. “One, if not more, of those four grown women know exactly what happened to Sema'j and know how she got under that couch.”

The women Austin mentioned were Sheri Gordon, Sema'j's mother, Lakerisha Crosby, Sema'j's aunt, Darlene Crosby, Sema'j's grandmother, and Tamika Robinson, Darlene's friend. Austin said some media reports of all four women cooperating with police are false. All four women have attorneys who police have to go through.

http://www.theherald-news.com/2017/07/09/detective-someone-knows-what-happened-to-semaj/a1f6vsy/

Also in the article, according to Detective Austin:

_Some polygraphs were administered and some people failed.
_Tests showed that a baby Sema'j's age would not have the strength to lift up a couch like the one she was found under.
_No cause of death determined yet by the coroner's office.
_Complete toxicology reports are still not back yet. Det. Austin doesn't know why.
_Insect bites were found on Semaj's face and insects were taken out of her ears and nose. Other than that, there were no external injuries on her body.

 

[ms_x_to_the_m]

http://www.theherald-news.com/2017/07/09/detective-someone-knows-what-happened-to-semaj/a1f6vsy/

Also in the article, according to Detective Austin:

_Some polygraphs were administered and some people failed.
_Tests showed that a baby Sema'j's age would not have the strength to lift up a couch like the one she was found under.
_No cause of death determined yet by the coroner's office.
_Complete toxicology reports are still not back yet. Det. Austin doesn't know why.
_Insect bites were found on Semaj's face and insects were taken out of her ears and nose. Other than that, there were no external injuries on her body.

Ugh! I was really hoping to see someone arrested for this baby's death.
I wonder why it's taking so long for toxicology tests. Maybe they came back negative and are running more tests. I don't know.
I do wonder if maybe, just maybe there will be no arrests until years from now.

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[Ontario Mom]

I hope it's okay to post this. The update from the investigator working on Sema'j Crosby case.

https://www.facebook.com/dietra.jones.39/videos/vb.100000480775769/2009893602369979/?type=2&theater

Good questions - interesting answers. Worth watching.

From Det. Austin in the video:

The couch was not flush to the floor, but sat on 3 inch legs.
There was no cut in the couch liner.
Det. Austin present when Semaj was found face down under the couch
Det. Austin also present during autopsy where insect bites were discovered on her face, and insects removed from her ears and nose
No other visible signs of trauma/injury or abuse.
2 of the women present in the home when she went missing have taken polygraphs. Two polygraphs failed (he worded that very carefully) "two polygraphs were taken, two polygraphs failed".

 

[Spellbound]

The investigator has a lot of patience and did very well at answering the questions. It seems likely one or more of those in the house know what happened. This will be solved. (There are still so many questions and confusions to work through)

 

[skibaboo]

I hope it's okay to post this. The update from the investigator working on Sema'j Crosby case.

https://www.facebook.com/dietra.jones.39/videos/vb.100000480775769/2009893602369979/?type=2&theater

Good questions - interesting answers. Worth watching.

From Det. Austin in the video:

The couch was not flush to the floor, but sat on 3 inch legs.
There was no cut in the couch liner.
Det. Austin present when Semaj was found face down under the couch
Det. Austin also present during autopsy where insect bites were discovered on her face, and insects removed from her ears and nose
No other visible signs of trauma/injury or abuse.
2 of the women present in the home when she went missing have taken polygraphs. Two polygraphs failed (he worded that very carefully) "two polygraphs were taken, two polygraphs failed".

BBM - I think we can take a good guess as to who those 2 women are!

 

[perfectingpink]

BBM - I think we can take a good guess as to who those 2 women are!

:yes:

 

[Ontario Mom]

What I find curious is...

Semaj's mom apparently qualified for subsidized rent due to her lack of income...
Semaj's grandmother and aunt were "squatting" at Semaj's mother's house... (I can only assume that means they weren't paying rent elsewhere)

And yet all 3 of them suddenly have lawyers? I work full time and make a decent living but I cringe at the idea of what a lawyer would cost, so how are they able to retain lawyers? Just hoping someone can explain how that works.

 

[cvaldez1975]

they are expensive af!!! we were paying 300 an hour!!

What I find curious is...

Semaj's mom apparently qualified for subsidized rent due to her lack of income...
Semaj's grandmother and aunt were "squatting" at Semaj's mother's house... (I can only assume that means they weren't paying rent elsewhere)

And yet all 3 of them suddenly have lawyers? I work full time and make a decent living but I cringe at the idea of what a lawyer would cost, so how are they able to retain lawyers? Just hoping someone can explain how that works.

 

[ms_x_to_the_m]

What I find curious is...

Semaj's mom apparently qualified for subsidized rent due to her lack of income...
Semaj's grandmother and aunt were "squatting" at Semaj's mother's house... (I can only assume that means they weren't paying rent elsewhere)

And yet all 3 of them suddenly have lawyers? I work full time and make a decent living but I cringe at the idea of what a lawyer would cost, so how are they able to retain lawyers? Just hoping someone can explain how that works.

I'm thinking possibly legal aid? Or something along those lines.
Good question. I do wonder who is footing that bill.

All moo

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[KooshBall]

How did bugs get in her nose and mouth is she was only dead for a few hours? Is the house infested with bugs?

 

[dyannaON]

When my son asked me to pay for his lawyer he wanted and I saw how much I laughed. Nope mama didn't pay to fix his mess. Imo. Jmo.


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[MSCJgrad]

I have a coworker who grew up in not-so-great conditions (mother was an addict). She on more than one occasion had to go to the ER as a child for earaches, which ended up being a roach burrowed in her ear. Apparently, this does happen and it's not uncommon in a household where there are roaches. They crawl in there while a person is sleeping. Assuming the same could be said for the nose. R.I.P. Semaj.

How did bugs get in her nose and mouth is she was only dead for a few hours? Is the house infested with bugs?

 

[MSCJgrad]

they are expensive af!!! we were paying 300 an hour!!

Same here, plus a $1500 retainer. This is for a child custody case, as we had to jump through every imaginable hoop in order to obtain legal custody of my stepson, even after he had lived with us for over a year, his mother in another state, still redeeming state benefits on his behalf, and still having child support taken out of my husband's check. Interstate custody battles are a mess! Regarding legal aid, I can attest to this being nearly impossible and taking forever! In our state (MO), we got placed on a waiting list for legal aid August 2014 when we filed for legal custody and needed assistance wilth the whole custody mess. We are still on the list, and $6,000+ later, the matter is nearly resolved.

 

[sallye818]

How did bugs get in her nose and mouth is she was only dead for a few hours? Is the house infested with bugs?

There were reports early on (maybe from DCFS reports) that the house was infested with both bedbugs and cockroaches. I think the bedbugs might account for the "insect bites".

 

[J4cknsal1y]

https://patch.com/illinois/joliet/semaj-crosby-update-4-women-still-not-cooperating-police

"According to the media, everybody is cooperating with the police," he said. "I can tell you that absolutely for sure that is not the case. Everybody, all four women, have had attorneys. We cannot talk to them without going through their attorneys. **However, there are things in the works with those attorneys that we may have to shed some light on."**


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[Cubby]

How did bugs get in her nose and mouth is she was only dead for a few hours? Is the house infested with bugs?

Early msm indicated the house was infested with roaches.

 

[Cubby]

That she was found face down under the couch leads me to believe the COD will be suffocation. The liner wasn't cut and there was a 3 inch gap between the floor and couch liner. A game of hide and seek gone wrong? Since Semaj was found face down, it's possible she crawled under the couch while someone was holding it up on one side and instructing her to crawl under.

 

[KooshBall]

There were reports early on (maybe from DCFS reports) that the house was infested with both bedbugs and cockroaches. I think the bedbugs might account for the "insect bites".

So sad children slip through the cracks and are allowed to live in these conditions and with people who do not properly care for them. Poor liitle thing

 

[MsMarple]

https://patch.com/illinois/joliet/semaj-crosby-update-4-women-still-not-cooperating-police

"According to the media, everybody is cooperating with the police," he said. "I can tell you that absolutely for sure that is not the case. Everybody, all four women, have had attorneys. We cannot talk to them without going through their attorneys. **However, there are things in the works with those attorneys that we may have to shed some light on."**


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A little more from your link:

***Back in April, Sema'j was playing with six to eight other children, at least one of whom was as old as 13, when she was last seen about 4 p.m. The children were supposed to go get ice cream, but Sema'j’s mother, Sheri Gordon, couldn’t get her car started, police said.

The children then went to play in the yard, and Sema'j was not seen again until her body was found. In late April, sheriff's officials said, there were more than 10 people not related to Gordon or her three children living in her Preston Heights home, people sheriff's officials identified as "squatters."
...
When the audience asked Austin if he could reveal the identities of the four women who are choosing not to cooperate with investigators, he did. He identified them as Sheri Gordon; Darlene Crosby, who is Sema'j's grandmother; Lakerisha Crosby, Sema'j's aunt; and Tamika Robinson, a friend of Darlene Crosby.***

https://patch.com/illinois/joliet/semaj-crosby-update-4-women-still-not-cooperating-police

 

[DogRescuer]

I have a coworker who grew up in not-so-great conditions (mother was an addict). She on more than one occasion had to go to the ER as a child for earaches, which ended up being a roach burrowed in her ear. Apparently, this does happen and it's not uncommon in a household where there are roaches. They crawl in there while a person is sleeping. Assuming the same could be said for the nose. R.I.P. Semaj.

I really, really need to unread this rightnow. :scared: