Stepha Henry: Man charged with murder

CBS 2 HD has learned that an arrest was made on Tuesday morning in connection with the disappearance of 22-year-old Stepha Henry, who was last seen in Florida last year.

Police arrested 32-year-old Kendrick Williams and are expected to charge him with second-degree murder in the case of the missing John Jay College of Criminal Justice student.



Sources tell CBS 2 HD's Scott Weinberger that police found substantial evidence in Williams' vehicle tying him to the crime.

Miami-Dade County police said Williams was the driver of the dark Acura Integra sedan. During the investigation, Williams told detectives that he had left the club early but Henry had decided to stay, police said.

Detectives impounded the car, and analysis of the vehicle revealed evidence that linked Williams to Henry.

Though Henry's body has not been found, police do believe that she is dead. She would have turned 23 in September.

John Jay College President Jeremy Travis issued a statement soon after the news of the arrest:

"We are deeply saddened by today's news. Stepha Henry was a beloved member of the John Jay community.

"At this hour, we extend our most sincere and profound sympathy to Mr. And Mrs. Henry, her sister Shola and their entire family. The seven months since her disappearance have been very painful for her family and friends. We hope that they continue to find the strength they need to get through these difficult times.

"As a student, an alumna and a staff member, Stepha embodied the values we hope to impart to all of our students -- a thirst for knowledge, a commitment to excellence and a desire to ensure fairness in the pursuit of justice. She was full of hope and promise. We mourn the fact that she was unable to fulfill her dreams," Travis said.

Henry was last seen by relatives at their South Florida home on May 29, 2007, getting into a black sedan with a man. Henry, who was visiting the area with her 16-year-old sister, said she was going to a nightclub.

Miami-Dade County Police examined abandoned cars and traced signals from her cell phone as part of the investigation.

Henry was an honors graduate of John Jay College of Criminal Justice, was fascinated by criminal cases and aspired to be a lawyer, relatives said.

"She always wanted to be the lady Johnnie Cochran," said Daffodil Samuel, Henry's aunt, referring to the late attorney who became nationally known after winning an acquittal of murder charges for O.J. Simpson.

Samuel, who is the sister of Henry's mother, described her niece as "very nice," "brilliant," "a leader" and "very strong-willed." She said her niece often took family children to see movies and baked cupcakes for them.

"She was a fighter," Samuel said. "I know they didn't take Stepha easily."

Henry's mother last spoke to her daughter over the telephone about 11:30 the night before she disappeared, Samuel said.

As Henry was getting dressed to go out, her mother asked where she was going and with whom, Samuel said. She hurriedly told her mother a friend's brother-in-law was picking her up, Samuel said.

"She said, 'Mommy, mommy, I gotta go. I gotta get dressed,"' Samuel said.

There is video of Henry at the club, and police questioned a man who told them he left her at the nightspot.

Samuel said her niece often resisted her mother's tendency to inquire about her whereabouts and who she was with and once asked a relative to ask her mother to ease up.

Henry's mother, Sylvia, traveled with her husband, Steve, to Florida the week their daughter went missing.

[Source]


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