EMILY ELIZABETH HADDOCK - 12 yo (2007) - Carthage NC

Emily Haddock Murder Another Racial Hush Crime?

October 25, 2007


In a rural area of North Carolina, 12 year-old Emily Elizabeth Haddock was staying home from school because of strep throat. Both of her parents worked and left her by herself, her grandfather was to check on her later in the day.

Also in the neighborhood that morning were five black youths. Van Roger Smith, 16, Sherrod Nicholas Harrison,19, Michael Graham Currie, 18, Perry Ross Schiro, 19 and Ryan Jermar White, 18 broke into Emily house, reportedly with robbery as a motive. While no one knows exactly what happened in the home, what is known is that Emily was found by her grandfather, dead from gunshot wounds.

Three of the suspects were given suspended sentences for other crimes and were free on probation at the time of the murder and two were repeat probation violators.

At the time of the murder, Mr. Harrison was serving a concurrent 36-month suspended sentence, which he received in February 2006 for four burglary convictions. Mr. Currie is serving a concurrent suspended sentence for six crimes: Trespassing, simple assault, possession of stolen goods, unauthorized use of conveyance, breaking and entering and larceny. Mr. Schiro is serving a concurrent suspended sentence for five crimes: Assault, two counts of simple assault, possession of Schedule VI drug and possession of stolen goods.

The murder of Emily Haddock is being compared to the murders of Channon Christian and Chris Newsom, another black on white crime that went largely unnoticed in the media until bloggers picked it up. Does the seemingly nationwide media blackout on this story, another sign of media bias? Or is the murder of this girl less important than 6 adults being put in jail for beating another? Also, does the lack of details and reluctance of the coroner to release their findings suggest, as some are insinuating, that the crime may also have been sexual in nature?

Man pleads guilty in Vass 12-year-old's slaying



Van Roger Smith Jr.

Emily Elizabeth Haddock

Carthage, N.C. — The fourth of five men charged with killing a 12-year-old Moore County girl three years ago has been sentenced to prison.

Van Roger Smith Jr., 19, pleaded guilty Friday to being an accessory after the fact of first-degree murder in the death of Emily Elizabeth Haddock. He was sentenced to 58 to 79 months in prison.

Haddock was killed on Sept. 21, 2007, when several men broke into her home in Vass. She had stayed home from school with strep throat, and the burglars were surprised to find her inside, prosecutors said.

She was shot several times with a 22-caliber handgun, authorities said. Her grandfather found her body when he stopped by the home to check on her.

Michael Graham Currie, 21, pleaded guilty in August to first-degree murder and breaking and entering in the case and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Sherrod Nicholas Harrison pleaded guilty earlier this year to being an accessory after the fact in the case and was sentenced to 93 to 123 months in prison. Ryan Jermar White pleaded guilty in September to an accessory charge and was sentenced to 40 months in prison.

The fifth defendant, Perry Ross Schiro, has been indicted on an accessory charge and is scheduled for a Nov. 15 court hearing.

Carthage man gets prison term for role in Emily Haddock murder


Sat Jan 15, 2011

CARTHAGE - The last of the men arrested in the 2007 murder of 12-year-old Emily Haddock has been sentenced to prison for his role in the killing.
A Moore County jury Friday morning found Perry Ross Schiro of Carthage guilty of being an accessory after the fact to first-degree murder, according to the District Attorney's Office.
Superior Court Judge James A. Webb sentenced Schiro to between nine years, eight months and 12 years, five months in prison.
Prosecutors alleged Schiro hid the pistol used to kill Haddock in the trunk of his car.
Assistant District Attorney Peter Strickland said there was no credible evidence Schiro was at the mobile home outside Vass when Haddock was killed.
Haddock was home alone, sick with strep throat, when Michael Currie and Sherrod Harrison broke in and found her.
Currie pleaded guilty in August to shooting Haddock and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. In exchange, prosecutors agreed not the pursue the death penalty.
Schiro, now 23, was 19 at the time of the murder.
Currie and co-defendant Ryan Jamar White testified against Schiro at the trial, Strickland said. Their plea deals with the District Attorney's Office required their cooperation with authorities.
White received two years, 10 months to three years, five months in prison in September after he pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to voluntary manslaughter and possession of a firearm by a felon.
Schiro's lawyer, Richard Roose, did not offer evidence during the trial. Instead, he built his case by cross-examining the state's witnesses, Strickland said.
Roose did not return a phone message seeking comment Friday.
Each of Schiro's co-defendants have already pleaded guilty and been sentenced to prison terms.
Strickland said Schiro never expressed interest in pleading guilty.
In June, Harrison pleaded guilty and a judge sentenced him to seven years, nine months to 10 years for being an accessory after the fact to first-degree murder.
Van Roger Smith admitted in November to being an accessory after the fact to murder. His prison sentence is between four years, 10 months and six years, seven months.
http://fayobserver.com/articles/2011/01/14/1063247?sac=Moore

This is an outrage!! Talk about a slap on the wrists for killing an innocent child! Where is justice for Emily Haddock?????

GatorMama2 wrote:This is an outrage!! Talk about a slap on the wrists for killing an innocent child! Where is justice for Emily Haddock?????

GatorMama, I think the sentences were fair. The murderer got LWOP and the others got various sentences in accordance to their part in it and whether they co-operated with police.

I think they all deserved life without parole!!