FELECIA NICOLE WILLIAMS - 9 yo (2014) - Temple Terrace FL

Search continues in Temple Terrace for missing girl

Posted: May 17, 2014 2:00 PM CDT
Updated: May 17, 2014 7:38 PM CDT
By WFLA.com web staff

TEMPLE TERRACE, FL (WFLA) - The Temple Terrace Police Department has scheduled a 9 p.m. news conference to talk about missing 9-year-old Felecia Williams.

Several Bay area law enforcement agencies are searching for Felecia who went missing late Friday afternoon.

Felecia Nicole Williams of Tampa was last seen between 5:30 and 6 p.m. at the Doral Oaks apartment complex in Temple Terrace, not far from the intersection of 56th St. and Busch Blvd.

According to a Temple Terrace Police Department report no evidence of foul play has been found at this point of the investigation. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement issued a missing child alert just before 5 a.m. Saturday.

Felecia is a black female who stands 4’5’’ tall and weighs 100 pounds. She has brown eyes and black hair which is tied into a ponytail. At the time of her disappearance Felecia was wearing a black and green striped shirt, blue jeans and black shoes.

Investigators say a family friend picked up Felecia at her Tampa home and took her to Doral Oaks for a visit. The friend took a shower and when she exited the bathroom Felecia was nowhere to be found.

Assisting the Temple Terrace Police Department in their efforts to locate the missing child are deputies with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, officers with the Tampa Police Department and personnel with the Temple Terrace Fire Department.

If you have seen Felecia or have any information about this case please contact the Temple Terrace Police Department at 813-989-7110.

http://www.wfla.com/story/25544122/search-continues-in-temple-terrace-for-missing-girl

Body found likely missing 9-year-old

Posted: May 17, 2014 6:50 PM CDT
Updated: May 17, 2014 9:16 PM CDT
By WFLA.com web staff

CLEARWATER, FL (WFLA) - The body found in the water near Clearwater was likely the 9-year-old missing from Temple Terrace, authorities said.

Temple Terrace police officials revealed that information at a news conference this evening at the Temple Terrace City Hall.

Felecia Nicole Williams of Tampa was last seen about 5:30 p.m. Friday from Doral Oaks Apartments on Bullard Parkway near North 56th Street, Temple Terrace city spokesman Michael Dunn said. Felecia went to the apartment complex with a family friend.

The police was told the child disappeared when the family friend was taking a shower.

The body of an young female was found floating in the water near the Courtney Campbell Causeway Saturday afternoon, authorities said.

Pinellas County sheriff's deputies responded to the north side of the causeway about 3:30 p.m., Clearwater police spokesman Rob Shaw said in a news release.

Two people fishing on shore spotted the body floating alongside the rocks and mangroves, the release states. The area is next to  the access road north of the causeway on the eastern edge of the Clearwater city  limits.

The body of a young, black female was pulled from the water and taken to the Pinellas County Medical Examiner's Office.

Clearwater police is not expected to release any new details this evening, the release states.

http://www.wfla.com/story/25545172/body-found-near-courtney-campbell-causeway

Mother of girl found dead in Tampa Bay still looking for answers

By Zack Peterson, Times Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 5, 2014 10:20pm

TAMPA — Felecia Demerson's dead daughter keeps coming to her in dreams.

She takes her mother by the hand and together they walk through the apartment complex in Temple Terrace where the girl was last seen alive. They always stop before a door. And the daughter turns to her and says, "I'm only going to walk you up … because I don't think you can handle the rest."

The dreams came so regularly, Demerson said she doesn't want to sleep anymore.

"I don't know if that's part of tragedy, if that's part of grieving. I don't know what it is," said Demerson, 40.

It has been nearly three months since 9-year-old Felecia Williams disappeared, her body found May 17 floating near the Courtney Campbell Causeway, many miles from her Tampa home. And Demerson says she knows little more about how she got there than she did then.

Temple Terrace police, who haven't publicly disclosed how the child was killed, won't tell Demerson either. And she remains at a loss to understand the behavior of a family friend, Eboni Wiley, one of the last known people to see Felecia alive, who has given varying accounts of that day.

"To this day," Demerson said, "I don't know how my daughter died."

Speaking at length for the first time since her daughter's disappearance, Demerson said she continues to have faith that police are doing what they can to build a case against the killer.

Authorities have identified Granville Ritchie, 35, as the chief suspect in Felecia's death. Police say he was with Wiley, 24, and the girl the day she disappeared. But they have not charged him in connection with Felecia's murder.

He is being held on unrelated charges of having sex with a minor and two drug charges and has been in custody since May 21. Police continue to withhold details about their case against him in Felecia's death.

"There's nothing new to release at this time," said city spokesman Michael Dunn, "but police are continuing to work on the case diligently."

Since Felecia was murdered, Demerson said she dislikes being alone. She moved from the family's place in Tampa to a home outside the city with her three youngest children — ages 4, 11 and 14.

A fish tank filled with scraps of paper and random household items gathered dust inside the doorway. A group of couches formed a ring in the living room. The sounds of children squealing echoed from the back bedroom.

Demerson stood near the kitchen, where she has stacked numerous photo albums of her dead daughter on a tall wooden dresser.

She cast a sad stare toward the shelves. "It's kind of a like a memorial," she said.

Demerson said Felecia's father, Jerome Williams, 36, is grieving too. Williams is serving time in state prison for burglary of a dwelling. He is not scheduled to be released until March 2024, according to the Florida Department of Corrections.

Demerson said she feels betrayed by Wiley, the family friend who picked up Felecia the day she disappeared. Attempts to reach Wiley were unsuccessful.

Wiley rented a room in the house next door around January 2014, Demerson said, and soon, she and her daughter Felecia began spending time together.

They liked going to church, to the store, to the park, out to eat. They rode bicycles and took walks. Wiley called Felecia by her nickname, "Sugar Plum."

"My daughter really adored, cherished, worshiped the ground Eboni walked on," Demerson said.

Demerson never conversed with Wiley on a personal level, but she trusted her nonetheless. Wiley didn't seem to have issues or draw bad company. She seemed keen to take Felecia under her wing.

A search warrant affidavit filed in May places Ritchie and Wiley at Doral Oaks, the same Temple Terrace apartment complex from which the girl disappeared. It revealed that Wiley and Ritchie had taken Felecia that day to the apartment — but they gave vastly different accounts to investigators on how she disappeared. Wiley has been charged with providing false information about the case to law enforcement.

The night Felecia disappeared, Demerson was visiting a grieving family in Temple Terrace that lost a family member. One of her daughters called around 9:30 with news: Felecia was missing.

"What do you mean?" Demerson asked.

"Eboni said she was missing," the daughter replied.

Demerson was frantic, and upset. She said Wiley should have called her — and she should have called nearly five hours earlier, when Felecia "actually went missing."

Sitting alone on her couch Tuesday, she is still hoping to learn what happened to her daughter.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/mother-of-girl-found-dead-in-tampa-bay-still-looking-for-answers/2191647

Most charges dropped against prime suspect in Tampa murder of 9-yr-old Felicia Williams
Posted: Jun 27, 2014 11:22 AM EST Updated: Sep 12, 2014 12:12 PM EST

TEMPLE TERRACE, FL (WFLA) -

Who killed 9 year old Temple Terrace girl Felecia Nicole Williams?

Temple Terrace police have still not filed charges in the case.

Williams lifeless body was found floating along the Courtney Campbell Causeway in May.

Temple Terrace Police say their only suspect in the case is Granville Ritchie, 35, but so far they have not filed any charges against him related to the death of Williams.

Police believe Ritchie was in the apartment of Eboni Wiley, 23, on the day Williams was murdered.
Wiley had taken Williams to her apartment, but has offered conflicting accounts about what happened during the hours Williams was with her.

Police have charged Wiley with giving false statements to police, but have not charged Wiley with Williams murder.

Ritchie is being held in a Hillsborough County jail on unrelated charges of having sex with a minor, but that case may be falling apart.

A spokesman for the Temple Terrace Police Department says there is nothing new in the Williams murder case and declined to comment on the sexual battery case against Ritchie.

The spokesman referred questions to the State Attorney's office concerning the criminal charges against Ritchie.

The Hillsborough County State Attorney confirms they have dropped three of the four charges against Ritchie, who is still being held without bond.

The Hillsborough County State Attorney’s office says Ritchie now faces one count of unlawful sexual activity with a minor.

“After reviewing the case, prosecutors decided to drop three of the charges in this case. We review criminal cases every day in this office and make determinations based on the law,” said State Attorney Spokesman Mark Cox.

Felecia Demerson, Williams’ mother, had appeared at a news conference last month, but barely spoke. She had tears running down her cheeks as she held hands with the police chief.

"If anyone has information on my daughter's killer … can you please come forward," she asked.

CrimeStoppers has put up a $3,000 reward and the FBI just added $10,000 more for information connecting the suspect to Williams' murder.

You can contact Detective Tom Carroll at (813) 506-6538 if you have any leads.

http://www.wfla.com/story/25888200/charges-dropped-against-prime-suspect-in-tampa-murder-of-9-yr-old-felicia-williams