My heart is heavy and eyes are full of tears

I had followed this story praying desperately that Latasha would be found unharmed and returned to her family. Well that was not to be. I know the deep hurt that her family is going through as it has only been two years since my 29 year old cousin was found murdered in a wooded area. No one who has not experienced a tragedy of this magnitude can understand how this devastating this is.

Why do men feel they OWN women. Not just in this case or in my cousin's (her ex is a person of interest) but Scott Peterson, OJ Simpson (he got off on a technicality) , Drew Peterson, Rae Carruth, all murdered women they SUPPOSEDLY loved. Where do they get the idea that its is ok for them to murder these women. That these women are not entitled to breath air? What gives the the RIGHT to take away these mothers, daughters, sister, cousins, friends out of their family member's lives? Domestic violence makes me SO angry. I don't understand how you say you love someone and then hurt them in the worse way possible.

Please pray not only for her family but for me and mine.

Ex-boyfriend charged in JSU student’s killing

The Clarion-Ledger

Brian Albert Broom/The Clarion-Ledger Jackson Police investigate the scene on Brown Street where a body has been discovered.

The ex-boyfriend of a JSU student missing since Nov. 13 has been charged with killing her, officials say.

Stanley Cole, 24, is suspected in the slaying of Latasha Norman.

A body found this afternoon off Brown Street in north Jackson is that of Norman, Jackson Police Department spokesman Sgt. Jeffery Scott confirmed late today.

The remains were found around 2 p.m. in a wooded area on Brown Street near County Line Road.

Cole, a criminal justice major at JSU, was in a Pearl court early Thursday for a hearing into charges he struck Norman Oct. 9 at a restaurant in Pearl. He was later taken into custody for further questioning in Norman’s disappearance.

Cole, whom Scott had termed “a person of Interest” a few hours earlier, was formally charged with murder after Norman’s body was found.

Cole apparently led police to the body.

The university, which spearheaded vigils and other events to keep Norman’s disappearance in the news, has cancelled classes Friday in her honor.

“I want to extend my deepest and most profound sympathy to the Norman/Bolden family, Latasha’s friends and others who loved her,” JSU President Ronald Mason Jr. said. “There are simply no words that can take away the anguish felt in the face of such a heinous and senseless act.”

The Jackson State Department of Public Safety has been investigating Norman’s disappearance along with the FBI, Hinds County Sheriff’s Department and the Jackson Police Department.

“We all worked around the clock, hoping that we could bring Latasha back safely,” said Chief Rebecca Coleman, director of the Jackson State Department of Public Safety. “Now, our efforts must shift to seeking justice. We mourn with Latasha’s family and friends.”

A memorial service in memory of the junior accounting major is set for noon Monday in the Rose Embly McCoy Auditorium on the main campus.

Coroner Sharon Grisham Stewart said more testing would be needed for a positive identification of the body. It was badly decomposed, police said.

An autopsy is planned for tonight.

Norman, an accounting major from Greenville, had been the subject of a nationwide search.

Her story had been featured on CNN. Digital billboards leased by JSU for advertising purposes had for days flashed Norman’s picture and listed law enforcement contact numbers.

Producers of the popular TV show, America’s Most Wanted, were in Jackson on Wednesday, filming a segment on Norman.

Norman, 20, was described as a serious student who kept to herself.