The search for Latoyia Figueroa is over, and the news is not good.
Police officers found Latoyia this morning in Chester after following her former boyfriend, Stephen Poaches. He and a friend, unaware that they were under surveillance, attempted to move Latoyia’s body. Poaches was the father of her unborn child; when the police apprehended him, he was wearing a bullet-proof vest and carrying a .45 caliber gun. (update: here’s how it went down)
All-Spin Zone has further details, as does The AP.
In his comments to reporters this morning, Latoyia’s father said that this brings closure to the family. He also emphasized that the search for Latoyia built a movement that was not just about her, but also about the thousands of minority women currently missing in the United States.
With news like this, concentrating on that larger picture seems like the only way to find a silver lining. Latoyia’s story has affected many of us, and has helped bring attention to the mainstream media’s skewed coverage of missing persons cases.
At Philly Future, we’re working to build a Missing Persons Ad network that will enable bloggers to publicize local cases on their blogs. If this story has affected you the way it has affected so many of us, please consider donating some of your time to help bring this network into being.
May Latoyia find in death the peace that escaped her in life, and may her family find solace as they grieve.
10 Comments on "Latoyia Figueroa: The Seach Ends"
Kate:
How very tragic.
Richard Cranium:
Thanks, Matt, for being out front in this whole effort.
Some good must come of this, somehow.
paxromano:
Matt, I can not tell you how devastated I am by all of this … I suppose I was in denial, I really thought she’d be found, alive…alas…
Also please remember that Missing Monday’s are the first Monday of the month, if you have a blog, post the details of someone from your area that is missing.
http://missingmonday.blogspot.com/
the smedley log » Blog Archive » Sad news on Latoyia Figueroa:
[…] I first saw the reports at Philly Future, which led me to All Spin Zone, which led me to the confirmation of the sad news that her body was found this morning just outside Philadelphia. I can never read a story like this without wondering why. […]
Pepper:
I wish it hadn’t ended this way, but I am glad that her family has some closure. You’ve done an incredible job bringing this to the forefront. Now, step two, is to talk about domestic violence and how to stop it.
Oh, that guy Mike came back to my site, thinking he could taunt. He wrote the following: “This woman’s dangerous lifestyle finally catches up to her just as her mother’s did. If you people worked harder, she wouldn’t have ended up dead.” Then he said we “liberals” were using her, blah blah blah. Not a nice man. I let him ramble on so he could show himself - and it isn’t pretty.
Suzy Shedd:
This sad news is horribly painful for Latoyia’s family and friends, especially her young daughter — but think how much worse it would have been for them never to know. Matt, I think you and the other bloggers have done a tremendous service by insisting that all lives matter and that we must not succumb to MSM “standards” that make only some people “newsworthy.” I believe your persistence changed both the quantity and quality of the attention given to the search, and will continue to make a difference in the other all too numerous cases like this.
Pepper, isn’t it interesting that the “Mikes” never notice that there is only one common thread in the “dangerous behavior” of women who die at the hands of men they have loved and trusted — which is that those particular men weren’t truly loving and couldn’t be trusted. I think we can be sure that he wouldn’t approve of women turning him down because,”I don’t go out with men; it’s a ‘dangerous lifestyle.’” It makes a powerful statement when you let this toxic thinking be exposed and examined, but it must be a nasty experience for you.
Matt:
Richard, you are an inspiration.
Pepper: You have more patience than I do. Mike came here earlier today, to gloat over her death. I deleted his comment. I’ll be damned if I’m going to pay web hosting fees to give his racist views a platform. Let him get his own blog.
Honest argument is always welcome here, but racist trolls will face the wrath of my delete key.
The Heretik:
NOT NATALEE HOLLOWAY AGAIN
THE BODY OF LATOYIA FIGUEROA WAS FOUND DEAD in Pennsylvania. Whether she would have been found alive if given the attention paid to missing white rich girl NATALEE HOLLOWAY, we may never know. Neither attention, nor money, nor life
Natosha:
Matt,
I just want to thank you for helping to bring the attention that was needed to help find La toyia. It’s just a shame that America spends so much money on Natalee Holloway and the Run away bride, but didn’t think Latoyia was newsworthy……….
I would also like to give my condolences to Latoyia’s family. I don’t know if there has been some type of fund set up for her daughter, but I would like to find out. Her daughter and the rest of her family are in my prayers..I don’t know why, but I felt really passionate about the whole case. I didn’t know Latoyia personally. I just relate because she could have been my neighbor, sister, or cousin..A black single mom like me.
Ajassichick:
It really saddens me that a man will get a woman pregnant and kill her when he lives a double life between women. It is really sad what happened to this beautiful young lady who was not only someone’s child, but someone’s mother. This really saddens me because I have a daughter and sons and I would hope that my daughter does not fall victim to something like this, and that my sons would have more respect for life than to take one so senselessly. My prayers go out to her family and friends in their time of grief. You guys did a great job on getting her case out there and I have followed it from day one, and I hate that it ended this tragic. May God bless her family and bring peace among them throughout the troubling days to come with having to bury her and having to go through a murder trial on her behalf.
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