By John Newsom
This story is part of a collaborative project between Project: Cold Case and a University of North Florida Journalism class. The student credited above wrote this story as a class project.
Growing up, QuaSean Trotter was surrounded by family.
Natasha Richardson, QuaSean’s mother, moved her family from the Carolinas to Jacksonville, Florida to get a fresh start for her and her kids. According to Richardson, QuaSean loved football, fishing, and his family. He was selective about his friends and always wanted a family of his own.
He loved his whole family, but he especially loved spending time with his younger brother Quavarius. All the boys in school knew to be careful about dating his younger sister. QuaSean always told his siblings to do the right thing, even if he didn’t. Read more
Case Spotlights
Edward Gathright
/in Cold Case Spotlight, Pennsylvania /by Project Cold CaseBy Troy Hollinger
This story is part of a collaborative project between Project: Cold Case and a University of North Florida Journalism class. The student credited above wrote this story as a class project.
David Gathright’s brother Edward is one of Philadelphia’s older cold case homicides. At well over 38 years since his murder, David has kept a vigilant eye toward setting right the wrongs of the past. David has consistently been very forthcoming and transparent with details which would throw most interested parties caution. So, it’s best to start at the beginning.
David’s recollection of early childhood could be summed up in two words: transient and harsh. Recounting a time when back-and-forth moves between Philadelphia and Youngstown, Ohio, meant “we went to 12 different elementary schools,” he recalls. The constant moves attributed to the unstable homelife he and his siblings were exposed to. Read more
QuaSean, Ariyan, and Arielle Trotter
/in Cold Case Spotlight, Florida /by Project Cold CaseBy John Newsom
This story is part of a collaborative project between Project: Cold Case and a University of North Florida Journalism class. The student credited above wrote this story as a class project.
Growing up, QuaSean Trotter was surrounded by family.
Natasha Richardson, QuaSean’s mother, moved her family from the Carolinas to Jacksonville, Florida to get a fresh start for her and her kids. According to Richardson, QuaSean loved football, fishing, and his family. He was selective about his friends and always wanted a family of his own.
He loved his whole family, but he especially loved spending time with his younger brother Quavarius. All the boys in school knew to be careful about dating his younger sister. QuaSean always told his siblings to do the right thing, even if he didn’t. Read more
Cathleen Thomas
/in Cold Case Spotlight, Virginia /by Project Cold CaseBy Bruce Hope
This story is part of a collaborative project between Project: Cold Case and a University of North Florida Journalism class. The student credited above wrote this story as a class project.
Cathleen Thomas, Cathy to family and friends, was one of those people. She always left a lasting impression on nearly everyone she met. Cathleen Thomas was a hero, a trailblazer, and a person who embodied both the ordinary and extraordinary in a life shortened by tragedy at only 27 years old.
Read moreArthur Hulley Jr.
/in Cold Case Spotlight, Florida /by Project Cold CaseBy Cameron Rogers
This story is part of a collaborative project between Project: Cold Case and a University of North Florida Journalism class.The student credited above wrote this story as a class project.
Arthur William Hulley Jr. was born January 24, 1947. As a child, Bill, as he was called, lived in Baltimore, Maryland, with his mother and father and his older sister, Joan Williams. Their home flourished with nature, and young Bill relished in it by building forts with his friends, running around with his pup, and fishing with his father in the nearby stream. Williams remembers him as the happiest little kid, a three-year-old boy who just wanted to smile and play.
Read moreDerek Williams
/in Cold Case Spotlight, Florida /by Project Cold CaseBy Dieujuste Johnson
This story is part of a collaborative project between Project: Cold Case and a University of North Florida Journalism class. The student credited above wrote this story as a class project.
On November 7, 2013, four people were shot and killed in Jacksonville, Florida. No arrest has ever been made.
Derek Lennard Williams was one of the victims. For Sakina Bell, his mother, life must goes on, but she continues to remember and grieve for her beloved Derek.
Read moreMelissa Ellison
/in Cold Case Spotlight, Florida /by Project Cold CaseBy Sara Crouch
This story is part of a collaborative project between Project: Cold Case and a University of North Florida Journalism class.
Christmas was always the most wonderful time of the year for the Taylor family – two parents and five beautiful daughters who called Jacksonville home. The family matriarch, Catherine, loved every minute of the holiday. There would be at least 30 people all under her roof and decorations galore. Everyone loved it, but the most distinctive and contagious laugh belonged to Melissa Ellison, known by friends and family as Missy. She was the second oldest of the five girls.
Read more
Jim Murray
/in Cold Case Spotlight, Florida /by Project Cold CaseBy Joseph Manuola
This story is part of a collaborative project between Project: Cold Case and a University of North Florida Journalism class.
In 1973, Jim Murray lost his father. He became the family patriarch, taking care of his siblings and making sure everyone had what they needed to survive. By the time he was murdered sixteen years later, they had learned to survive on their own, but that didn’t make the loss hurt any less. Read more
Edgar Lee Hill
/in Cold Case Spotlight, Florida /by Project Cold CaseBy Alfred Nairn
This story is part of a collaborative project between Project: Cold Case and a University of North Florida Journalism class.
Once a Marine, always a Marine: that’s how Edgar Lee Hill carried himself throughout his life.
Known by his loved ones as “Eddie,” the Marine and Vietnam veteran was described as a kind man who struggled after the war. Read more
Kenneth Felton
/in Cold Case Spotlight, Florida /by Project Cold CaseBy Erin Garnett
This story is part of a collaborative project between Project: Cold Case and a University of North Florida Journalism class.
October 20, 2015 was Kenneth Felton’s last day on earth. He was only 23.
Since then, his mother, Keasha Jennings, has been doing everything in her power to keep in contact with authorities. The hope is always in finding the person or persons responsible for her son’s murder. Read more
Tyvon Nicole Whitford
/in Cold Case Spotlight, Florida /by Project Cold CaseBy Jessica May
This story is part of a collaborative project between Project: Cold Case and a University of North Florida Journalism class.
“Our family is a chain and she was the link that held us all together. Now that link is forever missing,” said Dale Whitford, the mother of Tyvon Nicole Whitford. Tyvon was pregnant at the time of her mysterious murder on June 7, 2007. The murder has never been solved. Read more