A pregnant 15-year-old was shot in the head and killed Monday as she
waited at a North Carolina school bus stop, and her baby was in
critical condition.The shooting followed a domestic dispute and
authorities had identified a suspect, said police spokesman Rob Tufano,
who declined to elaborate.Tiffany Wright, who was eight months
pregnant, was shot before dawn at a stop in north Charlotte. She
attended Hawthorne High School, a school with a special program for
pregnant teens.Wright was found by her foster mother, who had
just walked Wright to the bus stop and returned home, Tufano said. She
heard at least three gunshots and went outside to find Wright in the
street.Wright was rushed to Carolinas Medical Center, where she
later died. Hospital spokeswoman Katie Ratchford said the baby was in
critical condition.Wright was described as a smart, focused student."It
was clear that Tiffany was academically strong and off to a good
start," Hawthorne Principal Travey Pickard told The Charlotte Observer.Pickard
didn't return a telephone message from The Associated Press, but
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools spokeswoman Cynthia Robbins said grief
counselors were available for students.Students said Wright always had a smile on her face."She
loved to joke. I'm like, devastated, like a lot of people," Cameron
Blakeney, a sophomore, told the newspaper. "We're all pretty torn up on
the inside."

A man identified as Royce Mitchell turned
himself in to police late Monday in connection with the early morning
shooting death of a pregnant Charlotte teen at her school bus stop,
police said.
Mitchell,
36, was wanted on warrants for statutory rape and indecent liberties
with minor, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said. Homicide detectives are
questioning him about the shooting.
The 15-year-old girl,
Tiffany Wright, was waiting for the bus near her home in north
Charlotte. The girl's unborn baby was delivered safely at Carolinas
Medical Center a few hours after the shooting.
The girl was
32 weeks pregnant. She was an 11th-grader at Hawthorne High School,
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools officials say. Hawthorne offers a special
program for pregnant students and those with young babies.
Early
Monday afternoon, police told reporters that they believe the shooting
was the result of a domestic dispute, and they indicated that they were
looking for a suspect.
The shooting happened about 6 a.m.
in the 6700 block of Mallard Creek Road, between Sugar Creek Road and
W.T. Harris Boulevard. Police said they responded to a report of a
shooting and found Wright in the street, shot in the head.
The girl was taken by Medic to CMC, where she died.
The baby, a girl, was listed in critical condition at CMC on Monday afternoon.
WBTV
is reporting that the girl's foster mother had walked the girl to the
bus stop but had gone back home to get the girl a glass of water. When
she returned, WBTV says, she discovered that the girl had been shot.
"A relative heard what sounded like three or four shots," police Chief Rodney Monroe said Monday morning.
Tiffany Wright lived on Walnut Park Drive, off Mallard Park Drive and Mallard Creek Road.
Police
closed Mallard Creek Road for several hours and set up a perimeter in
the area, looking for a possible suspect or suspects. Mallard Creek
Road was reopened late this morning, but police continued searching the
area for several hours afterward, even using a helicopter.
Ashelee
Barber, who said she was a niece of Tiffany Wright's foster mother,
said Tiffany had managed to keep a positive outlook on life, despite
having dealt with a number of problems.
"She was just a very sweet girl," said Barber, a college freshman. "I assume she was going through a lot of stuff.
"When people go through tough times, they sometimes develop hateful feelings, but she wasn't that way."
Tracey
Pickard, Hawthorne High's principal, said Tiffany Wright came to the
school in August as a student in the TAPS program for pregnant
students. She said the girl had impressed teachers.
"It was
clear that Tiffany was academically strong and off to a good start,"
Pickard said. She said the girl's teachers told her that Tiffany "was
extremely focused."
Fellow students at Hawthorne High
School Monday afternoon remembered Wright as a smart, friendly girl who
did well in school and was always sweet.
"She always had
a smile on her face," said Cameron Blakeney, a sophomore who met her at
the movies last summer. "She loved to joke. I'm like, devastated, like
a lot of people," Blakeney said. "We're all pretty torn up on the
inside."
CMS superintendent Peter Gorman arrived at the
school about 1:15 p.m. to make sure district crisis teams were in place
and helping, "students who may be in a fragile condition."
Pastor
Gregory Moss of St. Paul Baptist Church, near Hawthorne, also came to
the school Monday afternoon to offer counsel to any students in need.
He said helping young people cope with violence can be difficult in a
society that seems saturated with it.
"A lot of these young people have become desensitized," he said. "Our idea is to help them have hope."
CMS
officials say a security officer rode home on the bus this afternoon,
to help students feel safe. Extra security will be provided at the bus
stop and at Hawthorne High School over the next several days.
A
number of police units remain in the area, interviewing residents about
what they might have seen or heard. Anyone with information in the case
is asked to call Homicide detectives at 704-432-TIPS. Or information
can be called to Crime Stoppers, 704-334-1600.

A Charlotte man charged with raping his adopted sister is now a
person of interest in her murder, and turned himself in Monday
afternoon. Tiffany Wright, 15, was shot and killed while waiting at her school bus stop, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said. Wright's
adopted brother, Royce Mitchell, 36, turned himself in at around 4:00pm
Monday on charges of allegedly raping Wright and is being called a
person of interest in her murder, police said. He was charged with
statutory rape and taking indecent liberties with a minor and is being
held without bond, police said. He is expected to be in court Tuesday
afternoon. Neighbors who escorted their children to the bus
stop Monday morning were shocked by the tragic news and all of the
commotion on what is typically a quiet street. The incident
happened as the teen's foster mother said she went inside the house to
get Wright a glass of water. The foster mother told police she later
heard at least three gunshots. When she went outside, she discovered
that Wright had been shot. When police officers arrived, they found Wright lying on the street suffering from a single gunshot wound to the head. Wright was 32 weeks pregnant, police said. She
was critically injured and transported to Carolinas Medical Center-Main
where she later died. Doctors managed to save the unborn child's life,
and the baby was listed in critical condition as of Monday evening. Dozens
of police officers spent the morning canvassing the neighborhood and
questioning people in an effort to find out more about the suspect. The
CMPD said the shooting was no random act of violence and that it was
the result of a domestic dispute. By 4:30pm the CMPD said the suspect
walked into police headquarters and turned himself in earlier in the
afternoon. Wright was an 11th grade student at Hawthorne High
School which is an alternative campus. The school offers a variety of
programs, including the TAPS program for students who are pregnant. Additional
counselors were at the school on Monday providing assistance to
students and staff. A large banner was placed in the cafeteria in
memory of Wright. CMS says there will be increased security at the bus
stop and the school for the next few days.

Police said Tuesday they were investigating whether the 36-year-old
brother of a pregnant teenager killed at a school bus stop fathered the
girl’s baby.

Royce Mitchell was also being questioned in the death of his sister
Tiffany Wright, 15, who had been adopted by Mitchell’s parents.
However, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police spokesman Bob Fey characterized
Mitchell as a person of interest rather than a suspect.
Wright, an 11th-grader at Hawthorne High School who was eight months
pregnant, was shot early Monday while she waited at a school bus stop
in north Charlotte. She later died at a hospital. Police have said the
slaying stemmed from a domestic dispute.
Wright’s baby was delivered at Carolinas Medical Center hours after
the shooting. The child had been in critical condition Monday. A
hospital spokeswoman declined to provide the baby’s condition Tuesday
morning.
Mitchell turned himself in Monday on an outstanding warrant charging
him with statutory rape and taking indecent liberties with a minor. It
was unclear whether those charges were related to Wright.
He was being held Tuesday in the Mecklenburg County Jail without
bond. He will likely retain an attorney after an initial court hearing
on Tuesday. Mitchell was a street maintenance worker for the city.
Wright’s grandmother, Shirley Boston of Buffalo, N.Y., said the girl
was born in the northeastern New York city, where her father also
lives. Boston said Tuesday that Wright was placed in foster care after
the girl’s mother lost custody. Boston said she does not know how her
granddaughter ended up in Charlotte.

Sometimes, when terrible things happen to innocent people, we say that they fell through the cracks.
It's
the admission of a brutal truth: The structures in our society have
spaces between them, and in those spaces, people suffer.
Tiffany Wright didn't fall through the cracks.
When she was 2, social services in New York took her from her mother's custody and found her a foster home.
Later on, Alma Wright adopted her and raised her in North Carolina.
After Alma Wright died in January, the court system appointed Royce Mitchell as Tiffany's guardian.
Less than a month later, Mecklenburg County DSS went to Mitchell's home to check on the situation.
Sometime after that, Tiffany was put back in foster care.
In July, DSS told Charlotte-Mecklenburg police about the possibility Mitchell committed statutory rape on Tiffany.
In August, police called Mitchell to come in for an interview.
That's
at least seven times when an institution – social services, the courts,
police – acted on behalf of Tiffany. People noticed her situation and
set out to help.
But despite all that, on Monday, Tiffany
was shot in the head while she waited for her school bus. She was 15
and pregnant. Doctors saved the baby but could not save her.
Police
have arrested Mitchell on charges of statutory rape, and are
questioning him about Tiffany's death. And while that happens, we have
to look at not just the cracks in between our institutions, but the
cracks inside them.
Police knew for almost two months about
the DSS report that Mitchell might be having sex with Tiffany. They
asked him to come in for an interview, but he declined.
Courts approved Mitchell as a temporary guardian – even though he did time in federal prison for drugs.
It's
not clear if that turned up in court records. But surely it helped
Mitchell that he had a job in street maintenance with the city of
Charlotte. He didn't put his conviction on his job application, and the
city's standard record check doesn't cover federal crimes outside of
western North Carolina. (The city fired Mitchell on Wednesday.)
The
thing is, based on what we know now, everybody did what they did for
good reasons. The city ran its standard check and Mitchell cleared it.
The courts also acted on the information they had. DSS passed on a tip
to the police. And the police started an investigation.
But looking back, you see all the cracks.
Why
doesn't the city, with so many employees who move here from somewhere
else, run nationwide checks? Why don't the courts do the same? Why
didn't DSS nag the police to make a case against Mitchell? And why
didn't the police just go out and talk to him?
There are
always good and reasonable answers – not enough money, not enough
staff, not enough interest from the public. That leaves a question for
the rest of us: Why don't we care more?
If one or two cracks in our system had been sealed, Tiffany Wright might have made it.
But they weren't, and she didn't, and her death demands different answers to all those uncomfortable questions.

The infant girl, born to a murdered 15 year old girl, has died, nearly a week after her mother. Tiffany
Ranae Wright was shot and killed Monday morning, as she waited for her
school bus along Mallard Park Drive. She was rushed to the hospital,
and her infant girl was delivered by doctors at Carolinas Medical
Center. That infant died Sunday morning, according to a spokesperson for Carolinas Heath Care System. Funeral arrangements were announced earlier this week. Visitation
will be at Calvary Christian Church on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. The
funeral will follow at 11:30 a.m. and interment will be at Oaklawn
Cemetery. On Thursday, the school where Wright attended held a
joint memorial service for her and Ja'ron McGill. McGill died a few
months ago in a separate and unrelated gun violence incident. Following the services, students and staff went outside to release purple balloons in memory of the two students. Tiffany
Wright's adopted brother, Royce Mitchell, 36, turned himself into
police Monday afternoon on charges of allegedly raping her earlier this
year. He is being called a person of interest in connection with
Wright's murder. Meanwhile, the teen's grandmother, Shirley
Boston, is blaming the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department for not
protecting her granddaughter from Mitchell. The CMPD, however,
said they had been investigating the rape allegation for nearly two
months, but didn't bring charges until after Wright's death because of
a backlog of sexual assault cases. Boston says that was no excuse. Authorities
said they were looking into whether Mitchell was the father of Wright's
baby. Mitchell was charged with statutory rape and taking indecent
liberties with a child. Mitchell has not been charged with Wright's murder, but he is being held in the Mecklenburg County jail without bond. Also
on Wednesday, the City of Charlotte released a statement concerning
Mitchell's employment status. He was hired as a member of the Charlotte
Department of Transportation's street maintenance crew in 2007. A
spokeswoman for the city said Mitchell has been terminated for
"falsifying his employment application." Spokeswoman Kim
McMillan said the city checked his records for criminal offenses at the
local and state level. Some of his federal records were reviewed but
not all of them, she said. "To ensure a more comprehensive
review of all applicants, the City will expand background checks to
include a search of federal offenses throughout the country," McMillan
said. On Tuesday, Mitchell appeared in court but said nothing as
judge Kimberly Best read the charges filed against him. The suspect
appeared over closed-circuit TV and did not appear to show any emotion
according to WBTV Reporter Dedrick Russell who was present in the
courtroom. Police say they are still following some strong leads
in the case but there's no word, yet, if detectives plan to interview
Mitchell again concerning Wright's death. Neighbors who escorted
their children to the bus stop Monday morning where Wright was shot
were visibly shaken upon hearing the tragic news of Wright's death. The
incident happened as the teen's foster mother said she went inside the
house to get Wright a glass of water. The foster mother told police she
later heard at least three gunshots. When she went outside, she
discovered that Wright had been shot. When police officers arrived, they found Wright lying on the street suffering from a single gunshot wound to the head. The
CMPD said the shooting was no random act of violence and that it was
the result of a domestic dispute. By 4:30 p.m., the CMPD said Mitchell
walked into CMPD headquarters with his attorney and turned himself in. This
is not Mitchell's first encounter with the law. According to the
Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office, Royce Mitchell's wife, Andria,
filed a domestic violence order of protection against him on May 6,
2008. She alleges that he threw her out of their bed, punched her in
the face leaving her with a black eye, bruised jaw bone and a headache. In 2006, he was acquitted in a 1998 drug-related murder in Buffalo, New York. Wright
was an 11th grade student at Hawthorne High School which offers a
variety of programs including one designed for students who are
pregnant. Additional counselors were at the school on Monday providing
assistance to students and staff. A large banner was placed in the
cafeteria in memory of Wright. If you have any information about this shooting, call 704-332-TIPS or call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.

Tiffany Wright stood alone in the dark, waiting for her school bus.
It was just before 6 a.m., and her foster grandmother had walked back home to get Tiffany's water bottle.Tiffany,
15, was eight months pregnant but determined to stay on track in
school. She wanted to be a lawyer. And after just a few weeks at
Hawthorne High, she had impressed teachers as smart and ambitious,
despite a difficult childhood.


At 5:51, Tiffany sent a text."Wheres the bus?"One stop away, replied her friend, already on the bus.At 5:55, as the bus lumbered toward Tiffany's stop, people began calling police to report gunshots.A school bus dispatcher radioed Tiffany's bus driver: Change course - something's happening ahead.Tiffany
lay dead in the road, shot in the head, that morning, Monday, Sept. 14.
Her baby girl was delivered at the hospital and lived a week, but died
Sunday.Nobody's charged in the killings, but police call Tiffany's adoptive brother, Royce Mitchell, a "person of interest."In
the months before she died, local agencies took steps aimed at
stabilizing her home life and keeping her safe. But her story exposes
failures in the system that was supposed to protect her.Among the missteps:
•In February, a Mecklenburg court clerk appointed Mitchell as Tiffany's
temporary guardian — even though he was a felon who served time in
federal prison. He was also tried in 2006 for murder, but found not
guilty. And last year, he was accused of domestic violence, though the
case was dismissed.
•In July, social workers told police that Mitchell, 36, might have committed statutory rape with Tiffany, but
police didn't question him about it for seven weeks, and didn't charge
him with the rape until after Tiffany was killed.
•This month, Mecklenburg social services failed to cut off communication between
Tiffany, who was in foster care, and Mitchell, said a source close to
the investigation.On the day of Tiffany's killing,
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police jailed Mitchell for statutory rape and
indecent liberties with a child, naming Tiffany as the victim.
Police defend their work, saying they followed the industry's best practices -
which takes time. Police didn't feel a need to rush, they say, because
they believed Tiffany was secure, hidden in a foster home with no
threat to her safety.Police say it's hard to prove statutory
rape: Of the 262 reports of statutory rape police received over three
years, only 16 percent - 42 cases - were accepted by prosecutors.Experts
say statutory rape cases are complicated because they involve victims
ages 13, 14 or 15 who often consider themselves voluntary participants
in sex with someone at least six years older. So victims can be
reluctant to help police.But child advocates say in cases like
Tiffany's, police should act more aggressively. An immediate arrest
sends a signal to a suspect and can persuade them to stay away from
victims."The cases may be difficult to win, but they're not
difficult to charge," says Brett Loftis of Charlotte's Council for
Children's Rights.UNCC criminologist Paul Friday says: "Often,
nothing is done in these kinds of cases because they're based on
improper assumptions about the rationality of someone that age. But the
minors are often unaware of disease, birth control and they can be
exploited by someone."Adopted by foster motherTiffany first entered the child welfare system as a toddler in Buffalo, N.Y., when her mother lost custody.She was adopted at 4 by her foster mother, Alma Wright, an older woman with
eight grown children, who was excited about raising another child.One
of Wright's grown sons was Royce Mitchell, a star quarterback in high
school who'd gone on to play for a semi-pro team in Buffalo. But
Mitchell also was indicted in 1999 as part of a drug trafficking ring
and went to federal prison.While he was in prison, authorities also charged Mitchell with an earlier murder, but a jury found him not guilty.In
2004, Alma and Tiffany left Buffalo for North Carolina, settling near
Kings Mountain. Tiffany made friends easily at school and church. She
ran track at Bessemer City High School.In 2007, Mitchell was released from prison and followed his mother to North Carolina.But
last fall, Alma Wright got sick. Friends at church helped out with
Tiffany, inviting her for dinners and weekends. Tiffany spent time with
Mitchell and his wife, too.Alma Wright died Jan. 25, and Tiffany moved in with the Mitchells in Charlotte.On Jan. 30, Royce Mitchell asked a Mecklenburg court to appoint him and his wife as Tiffany's guardians.On
his application, he wrote: "We are seeking guardianship because we were
requested to do so by Mrs. Alma Wright before she died."He wanted to transfer Tiffany to West Mecklenburg High School.The
court set a hearing for Feb. 5 and appointed a child advocate to study
the situation and look after Tiffany's best interests in court.There's no transcript of what happened in court, and the clerk who handled Tiffany's case declined to discuss his decision.Frederick Benson, a Mecklenburg assistant clerk of superior court, appointed
Mitchell the temporary guardian of Tiffany's welfare.It's
unclear if Benson, a lawyer, knew about Mitchell's criminal background.
Court clerks are not required to perform background checks in
guardianship cases, says Clerk of Superior Court Martha Curran. It's up
to each clerk to decide what checks are necessary, and they often rely
on court-appointed child advocates to advise them in such cases.Tiffany's advocate, lawyer Martha Efird, declined to discuss her actions in the case.It was in the weeks surrounding the Feb. 5 court hearing that Tiffany got pregnant, if hospital estimates are accurate.But
friends say Tiffany, who started at West Mecklenburg High in February,
wouldn't realize for four or five months that she was pregnant.On
Feb. 27, clerk of court Benson ordered DSS to conduct a "home study" of
the Mitchell household. Officials won't release their findings.But Mitchell didn't keep custody long, according to several of Tiffany's friends in King's Mountain.In late March, Mitchell left Tiffany at a group home called With Friends
in Gastonia, according to Marlene Jefferies and Cruceta Jeffeirs, two
adult family friends who watched Tiffany grow up.The group home
wouldn't confirm that. But the friends say the home reported to social
services that Tiffany was abandoned. And she was soon back in foster
care.On March 31, Jeffeirs, a Shelby pastor, wrote a letter to
Benson seeking custody of Tiffany: "My desire is to see Tiffany
accomplish all the goals that she has set for herself and I believe she
can do that in a stable environment with lots of guidance and love."DSS
officials in Gaston and Mecklenburg won't discuss Tiffany's case or
answer questions about what steps they took to protect her.But
friends and family say Tiffany was eventually placed in the care of
foster parent Susan Barber, in a townhome off Mallard Creek Road in
Derita.By July, it was clear Tiffany was pregnant, friends say.Barber
tried to shield Tiffany from talking to those she believed might be bad
influences, according to Tiffany's cousin Brittany Page. But a source
close to the investigation said Tiffany and Mitchell continued
communicating.Despite repeated attempts, Barber could not be reached.As
the school year approached, Tiffany prepared to change schools again,
this time to Hawthorne High in Charlotte, which offers a special
program for pregnant students.Delayed investigationOn July 27, social workers reported to police that Royce Mitchell might have committed statutory rape with Tiffany.It took eight days for a detective to look at the case, and three days
more for it to be officially assigned to Teresa Johnson, a detective
with CMPD's youth crime and domestic violence unit.Another 12 days passed before Johnson interviewed Tiffany.It's
unclear when detective Johnson discovered Mitchell's background, but it
wasn't enough to ramp up the investigation. Investigators say they
believed Tiffany was safe in a foster home and faced no threats from
Mitchell.Police say their performance in the case followed procedure and met standards.Police
interview alleged victims immediately if the crime has occurred within
the previous 72 hours, so they can gather evidence that may remain. But
in cases like Tiffany's - where months had elapsed since the alleged
offense - police try to arrange just one interview when children and
teen victims of abuse are involved.Police acknowledge that
strategy takes time but minimizes trauma and reduces the chances that
young victims might be led into inaccurate testimony by repeated
questioning.Police also let such victims decide when they want
to be interviewed at the county's child-victim center called Pat's
Place. There, specially trained interviewers talk to victims, while
social workers, psychologists, police and others watch from another
room.Tiffany chose an Aug. 19 interview. She didn't say much
during the formal interview. But later that day, Johnson won her trust
and obtained enough information to move forward with the investigation.No response from MitchellThe
next day, Aug. 20, the detective made her first call to Mitchell to ask
him about the charge, she says. Johnson left a message and gave him a
few days to call back.When Mitchell didn't respond, she made
calls over the next two weeks to social workers and a federal probation
officer to ask Mitchell to come talk to police.Police say they didn't immediately arrest him because they believed they could get better information if he talked voluntarily.On Sept. 9, a federal probation official told Johnson that Mitchell was not coming in.On
Sept. 10, a team of social workers, police and other agencies held a
standard follow-up meeting to discuss how to proceed in Tiffany's case.On
Friday, Sept. 11, detective Johnson phoned Mitchell's wife and left a
message. She asked her to call back to discuss Tiffany, Johnson says,
but didn't give details of the rape allegation.That Monday, Tiffany was shot and killed.As
emergency vehicles rolled to the scene, Tiffany's school bus was
diverted from its normal route. But the students could see flashing
lights. Tiffany's friends on the bus, Cimone Black and Tamia Corpening,
began to worry."I kept texting her phone...," Cimone said. Then she started calling, but all she got was voice mail.The bus continued on to Hawthorne. For Tamia, the hourlong ride was excruciating.Nobody said a word.

A statutory rape charge was dropped Thursday against a Charlotte
man accused of having sex with Tiffany Wright, the pregnant teen who
was fatally shot last month while waiting for her school bus.
The news incensed Charlotte-Mecklenburg police, sparking an unusually public dispute between police and Mecklenburg prosecutors.
Tiffany,
who was attending Hawthorne High, was eight months pregnant when she
was gunned down Sept. 14. Doctors delivered her baby girl, but the
infant later died. Police arrested Tiffany's adoptive brother Royce
Mitchell, 36, on the day of her killing - charging the convicted felon
with statutory rape and taking indecent liberties with a minor. They
also called him "a person of interest" in her killing, but have not
charged him.
Mecklenburg District Attorney Peter Gilchrist
said Thursday he dropped the charges against Mitchell because DNA tests
showed he was not the father of Tiffany's baby. Without Tiffany alive
to testify about any sexual encounters with Mitchell, prosecutors said
there was no other evidence to support the charges.
Mitchell
could not be reached Thursday, and his lawyer Susan Weigand declined
comment. But her boss, Mecklenburg Public Defender Kevin Tully,
questioned what he called a rush to judgment against Mitchell.
"It seems to me that some people had made up their minds about Mr. Mitchell's guilt based on his arrest," he said.
Police released a statement late Thursday saying Mitchell is still considered a person of interest in Tiffany's killing.
The
statement criticized prosecutors and said police believe there is
"probable cause" based on "evidence gathered" to prosecute Mitchell on
the sex charges - even without DNA evidence to prove that they had sex
at least once.
Tiffany gave conflicting statements about
her relationship with Mitchell. At times, she denied they had sex, but
ultimately she told a detective they had sex twice, according to
authorities.
Deputy police Chief David Graham said police
were disappointed that prosecutors didn't alert them or sit down with
investigators to discuss how to pursue their case against Mitchell.
But
Gilchrist disputed the police account. He said his assistants did
discuss the DNA results with police Thursday morning and spelled out
their intent to drop the charges.
"This was not an example of a weak case," Gilchrist told the Observer, "this was an example of a no case."
The
dispute illuminates the increasingly strained relationship between
police and prosecutors. Police have argued that Gilchrist's office
dismisses or pleads down too many cases. Prosecutors counter that
police bring them too many weak cases that can't be proved beyond a
reasonable doubt.
In Tiffany's case, Gilchrist said the
statements of a deceased victim to police were enough for an arrest but
wouldn't win in court. Police acknowledged Thursday they hadn't yet
developed any other evidence.
Tiffany was adopted into Mitchell's family as a toddler in Buffalo.
She moved to North Carolina in 2004 with her mother, Alma Wright, who was also Mitchell's mother.
At
the time, Mitchell was in federal prison on a drug conviction. He had
also been charged with murder - but found not guilty at trial in 2006.
He was released from prison in 2007 and moved to Charlotte.
When Alma Wright died in January, Tiffany moved in with Mitchell.
But he lost a bid to become her guardian, and Tiffany was soon placed in foster care.
Tiffany
told her foster mother that Mitchell had had sex with her, according to
authorities. The foster mother then called the Department of Social
Services, who reported the allegations to police July 27.
It
took investigators nearly four weeks to interview Tiffany about her
allegations, and police didn't talk to Mitchell until after Tiffany was
killed.
At Mitchell's bond hearing last month, Weigand
questioned the sex charges against her client, telling the judge that
Tiffany had denied having sex with Mitchell and denied that he was the
father of her baby.
Weigand also said Tiffany had been sexually active and that she told boys at school that they had fathered her child.
Prosecutor
Kelly Miller acknowledged in court that Tiffany initially refused to
talk about the allegations, then denied them. But Tiffany later told a
detective that Mitchell had sex with her twice and was the father of
her baby, Miller said.
On Thursday, Tiffany's grandmother Shirley Boston expressed shock that Tiffany's case appeared to be stalled.
"I
don't know what to make of this - I'm just overwhelmed," said Boston,
who lives in Buffalo. "I guess maybe poor females just don't get
justice in North Carolina."

Search warrants obtained show that police
sought bank records for accounts controlled by Royce Mitchell, adoptive
brother of slain teen Tiffany Wright.
Mitchell was the custodian of financial accounts left to Tiffany by her adoptive mother, Alma Wright, who died last January.
The
search warrants, executed Jan. 22 and made public Monday, do not say
what police expected to find in the accounts. Police sought records for
all of 2009. The warrants do spell out previously publicized actions by
Mitchell, which police say amount to probable cause that the financial
accounts may be evidence in Tiffany's murder.
Mitchell was
briefly granted custody of Tiffany when their mother died. He was also
given control of her financial accounts, which were left in trust to
Tiffany until she turned 18.
Tiffany was 15 years old and
eight months pregnant last September when she was shot and killed while
waiting for her school bus. Her baby was delivered but soon died. No
one has been charged in the murder, but Mitchell and another man were
previously named persons of interest in the killing.
Police
arrested Mitchell, 36, on the day of the murder and charged him with
statutory rape of Tiffany. But the rape charge was dropped when a DNA
test showed he wasn't the father of Tiffany's baby. A judge in November
revoked Mitchell's parole from a drug conviction and sent him back to
federal prison for 21/2 years when he found probable cause that
Mitchell probably had sex with Tiffany.
Adrian Powell, a
former West Mecklenburg High football player who had a relationship
with Tiffany, also has been named a suspect.
Police
wouldn't say Wednesday whether he remains under scrutiny. Last fall,
they ordered a DNA test to see if Powell was the father of Tiffany's
baby, but police won't say whether results are back.
Police Wednesday also refused to comment on what they found when they examined Tiffany's financial records.

Family struggles 2 years after pregnant teen’s slaying

Updated: 6:00 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2011
Posted: 4:31 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2011

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Wednesday marks two years since someone shot a pregnant Charlotte high school student.

Tiffany Wright, 15, was eight months pregnant and waiting early in the morning at her school bus stop when someone drove by and shot her in the head and then fled.

Wright and her unborn child died. Wright’s grandmother, Shirley Boston, is still waiting for answers.

Boston lives in Buffalo, N.Y. and said not a minute goes by that she doesn’t think about her granddaughter. “I just don't know why we have no answers of why is this such a whodunit,” she said.

She also struggles with two men who she thinks know what happened. Royce Mitchell, Wright’s foster brother, is accused of raping her but was never charged.

A judge did determine his relationship with Wright violated his probation and put him in jail, where he remains.

The other man is Adrienne Powell, the father of Wright’s unborn baby, who left town after the shooting.

“If I was a detective I would want to know these things. Why did you leave? Did you leave 12 hours after the murder.? Did you leave weeks after the murder?” Boston said.

Police still keep in touch with her and three months ago reached out to tell her that they are still investigating.

Charlotte Mecklenburg police released a statement on Wednesday saying this is still a very active case and that detectives are pursuing all leads.

But Wright’s grieving grandmother is not satisfied. “I don't think they've pursued it enough. There's just so many unanswered questions,” she said.

Boston made the trip to Charlotte last year for the one-year anniversary of Wright’s murder, but this year she said she is too “mentally beat up” to make the trip.

Police are once again urging the public to call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600 with any information about this case. They said any information provided with be kept strictly confidential.

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/news/family-struggles-2-years-after-pregnant-teens-slay/nDrR2/