BOSTON — Nearly thirteen years ago, a young Roxbury woman was found shot to death in an apartment stairwell. A child headed for school, made the terrible discovery. FOX25's Bob Ward tells us Charisse's family is doing all it can, to unmask her killer.
Charisse was 35 years old, the mother of a little girl. Charisse came from a good family. But in the end, she fell victim to the streets. And now Charisse's family is turning to the streets. They believe someone even now, can identify Charisse's killer.
Boston Police homicide detective Jeremiah Benton tells me the murder of Charisse Carter is something he will never forget, "I saw a young female victim of a homicide when I went into that building that day. And that's who she remains in my eye: A victim of a homicide."
This young woman, a single mother, was shot and killed close to his home telling me, "Charisse was from my neighborhood. She was a young lady. I have two daughters. I don't take cases personally per se, but you got to feel for some victims."
"I miss her! Oh my god."
Jackie Cairo-Williams was Charisse's mother. She remembers Charisse's larger than life personality. And how they seemed more like sisters, than mother and daughter telling me, "She was always so funny and witty. Oh my God, so witty."
On the morning of February 6, 2004, Charisse Carter was found shot to death in this apartment building on Waverly Street. The murder stunned her family. Her mother remembers what they told her, "They said she was sitting on the stair, leaning on the railing, sitting there, like she was asleep. But she was shot in the head with a small Caliber gun, they said."
Charisse's family tells me that they’ve been told Charisse was likely shot at about 1:30 in the morning right behind the front door to an apartment building but no one called police until eight o'clock in the morning.
That means Charisse's lifeless body was behind that front door for 6 1/2 hours.
"I totally lost it I don't know how I managed to hold myself together."
Andre chapman is Charisse uncle, he says, "We were best friends, she was everything, she was my world."
In the years before she was murdered, Charisse Carter fell into addiction.
There were periods of sobriety, but they didn't last. In 12 years, no one can explain why Charisse was in this building. She didn't live there, she didn't know anyone there. To this day, police say there is no motive for what happened to Charisse.
For Detective Benton its personal saying, "That baby didn't deserve what happened to her. She was a young girl. She may have had an addiction, but as far as I know, she didn't hurt anybody."
But Charisse's family can think of one thing. Shortly before her murder, Charisse testified in front of a grand jury about a non-fatal shooting she witnessed. Detective Benton tells me it's a possibility, but he needs someone to step up and talk.
"There were some theories on the street that we sort of looked at best we could. It becomes very difficult to bring some of those theories to an end when there are a lot of people who won't share any information with the police."
Charrise’s family is not giving up. After all this time, her mother says, "I want to know who murdered Charisse. I love her and a lot of people love her. Hopefully one day this will get resolved."
If you know anything about what happened to Charise Carter, contact Boston Police CrimeStoppers at 1.800.494.Tips.