07-14-2014, 01:11 PM
FINALLY...3 YEARS LATER, THE MURDER TRIAL GETS UNDERWAY
![[Image: 1524900_G.jpg]](http://wjbk.images.worldnow.com/images/1524900_G.jpg)
RIP Mariha Smith
Jury selection begins today in the murder trial of Mariha Smith. Mariha was raped, kidnapped, strangled, and set on fire in Detroit in June 2011.
There was a hard-core party at the home that Mariha lived in with her mom Konesha, her aunt Quanita, and her siblings. The adults were apparently passed out when Mariha was abducted.
![[Image: bilde?Site=C4&Date=20140714&Category=NEW...rder-trial]](http://cmsimg.freep.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C4&Date=20140714&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=307140024&Ref=V2&MaxW=300&Border=0&Mariha-Smith-Darnell-Cheatham-murder-trial)
Darnell Cheatham -- suspect, charged with first-degree murder, torture, child abuse, arson and mutilation of a body
Aunt Quanita's boyfriend, Darnell Cheatham - 23, has always been a prime suspect. He maintains his innocence. IMO, he's full of shit and a complete waste of human flesh.
Aunt Quanita's been sketch and suspicious all along too. After failing a polygraph test early on, she went completely off the public radar and there was a lot of speculation surrounding her whereabouts and involvement.
![[Image: article-2023240-0D53B29A00000578-414_468x286.jpg]](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/08/06/article-2023240-0D53B29A00000578-414_468x286.jpg)
Quanita Smith -- witness (and possible defense alternate suspect?)
Now more is coming out about Quanita. According to a court transcript from the preliminary examination, Quanita Smith testified she woke up during the night and saw Mariha in bed on top of Cheatham, but didn’t do anything, because, she said, she was drunk. He was moving when the girl was on top of him, she said.
Quanita Smith testified she didn’t tell police about it when she first talked to them because she didn’t “want to believe that he had anything to do with it.”
It looks to me like Darnell Cheatham's defense is gonna be to point the finger at his then girlfriend, Aunt Quanita. Cheatham’s attorney said a witness gave a statement that said a woman was holding hands with a little girl near the home where Mariha was found, a few hours before she was discovered.
Cheatham's defense attorney said that witness picked his client’s girlfriend from a photographic lineup, identifying her as the person who was in that area; he plans to call that witness to the stand during the trial.
If found guilty, Cheatham faces mandatory life in prison. (I don't believe Quanita has been charged with anything.)
http://www.freep.com/article/20140714/NE...rder-trial
RIP Mariha Smith
Jury selection begins today in the murder trial of Mariha Smith. Mariha was raped, kidnapped, strangled, and set on fire in Detroit in June 2011.
There was a hard-core party at the home that Mariha lived in with her mom Konesha, her aunt Quanita, and her siblings. The adults were apparently passed out when Mariha was abducted.
Darnell Cheatham -- suspect, charged with first-degree murder, torture, child abuse, arson and mutilation of a body
Aunt Quanita's boyfriend, Darnell Cheatham - 23, has always been a prime suspect. He maintains his innocence. IMO, he's full of shit and a complete waste of human flesh.
Aunt Quanita's been sketch and suspicious all along too. After failing a polygraph test early on, she went completely off the public radar and there was a lot of speculation surrounding her whereabouts and involvement.
Quanita Smith -- witness (and possible defense alternate suspect?)
Now more is coming out about Quanita. According to a court transcript from the preliminary examination, Quanita Smith testified she woke up during the night and saw Mariha in bed on top of Cheatham, but didn’t do anything, because, she said, she was drunk. He was moving when the girl was on top of him, she said.
Quanita Smith testified she didn’t tell police about it when she first talked to them because she didn’t “want to believe that he had anything to do with it.”
It looks to me like Darnell Cheatham's defense is gonna be to point the finger at his then girlfriend, Aunt Quanita. Cheatham’s attorney said a witness gave a statement that said a woman was holding hands with a little girl near the home where Mariha was found, a few hours before she was discovered.
Cheatham's defense attorney said that witness picked his client’s girlfriend from a photographic lineup, identifying her as the person who was in that area; he plans to call that witness to the stand during the trial.
If found guilty, Cheatham faces mandatory life in prison. (I don't believe Quanita has been charged with anything.)
http://www.freep.com/article/20140714/NE...rder-trial