Man who fought for justice dies
Published March 17, 2010
A man police hailed as courageous for turning in his grandson for the murder of a 3-year-old has died.
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[Thurman Harrell] McIntosh turned in his grandson, Harrell “Pete” Johnson, in 2001 for the murder and decapitation of Johnson’s stepdaughter, Erica Michelle Marie Green, who came to be known as “Precious Doe” in Kansas City, Mo.
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When Kansas City police wouldn’t listen to McIntosh, he persisted in calling to help bring Erica’s killers to justice.
With the help of Kansas City community activist Alonzo Washington, police were convinced they needed to test Michelle Johnson’s DNA.
“They (Kansas City detectives) just blew me off — thought I was a crazy old man,” McIntosh said at the time of his grandson’s arrest.
Washington recalled Tuesday how McIntosh wearied at being ignored.
He didn’t have a good command of the English language, he was old, and he was completely ignored by Kansas City police, Washington said.
“The average person would give up after awhile — he never gave up,” Washington said.
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“I’ve got it off my heart,” [McIntosh] said, his eyes downcast and his shoulders slumped. “Now, I sleep at night.”
He was retired and on a walker when the biggest heartache of his life came along.
“What my grandson did just broke my heart ... it hurt me so bad,” he said. “My time’s getting short, and I did my job.”
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and more, at
http://www.muskogeephoenix.com/local/local_story_076011456.html?start:int=15