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American Morning
Police Capture Woman Sought in Connection with Case of Child Abuse
Aired January 09, 2003 - 07:39 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Only a few hours ago in Newark, New Jersey, police captured a woman who had been sought in connection with a case of child abuse that involves the death of a 7-year-old boy. Authorities have been looking for Sherry Murphy since the boy's body was found on Sunday, a day after his two brothers were found starving in a locked basement.
Jamie Colby has been following the story.
She joins us from Newark right now with the very latest -- good morning, Jamie.
JAMIE COLBY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Paula, good morning.
Police say that Sherry Murphy did not resist arrest when they found her at 1:15 this morning right here in Newark, New Jersey. Police from New Jersey and the FBI had conducted a massive manhunt for Murphy, a go-go dancer. It took them as far south as North Carolina. They also made another arrest yesterday of a family friend, Joseph Reese (ph). He was charged and arraigned yesterday on sexual assault charges for assaulting one of the boys.
Now, back on Saturday, they found two of the boys locked in Sherry Murphy's basement in Newark. She had been caring for the boys while their mother was serving a five month prison sentence for child abuse. They also went back to the home on Sunday when the boys reported a brother was missing for several weeks. They found the body of 7-year-old Faheem Williams in a storage bin. And now the charges against Sherry Murphy, three charges of child endangerment, may include further charges as police continue their investigation that Faheem Williams' case has been ruled a homicide.
She will be arraigned later today. We are expecting a press conference at 10:30. Meanwhile, New Jersey's governor, Jim McGreevey, and the commissioner who oversees the division of Youth and Family Services here in New Jersey, the division that was supervising the children's care and had closed their case, has declared a state of emergency and instituted new rules that no longer can cases be closed where open abuse allegations are contained, where the children have not been personally visited -- Paula.
ZAHN: I guess that's the travesty of the story. And we'll be looking forward to hearing those details later on.
And, Jamie, now that you're done with your report, we wanted to welcome you aboard. I think this is the first report you've filed for AMERICAN MORNING.
COLBY: Thanks, Paula.
ZAHN: Glad to have you with us.
COLBY: Thank you.
ZAHN: Look forward to having more of your contributions.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Child Abuse>
Aired January 9, 2003 - 07:39 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Only a few hours ago in Newark, New Jersey, police captured a woman who had been sought in connection with a case of child abuse that involves the death of a 7-year-old boy. Authorities have been looking for Sherry Murphy since the boy's body was found on Sunday, a day after his two brothers were found starving in a locked basement.
Jamie Colby has been following the story.
She joins us from Newark right now with the very latest -- good morning, Jamie.
JAMIE COLBY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Paula, good morning.
Police say that Sherry Murphy did not resist arrest when they found her at 1:15 this morning right here in Newark, New Jersey. Police from New Jersey and the FBI had conducted a massive manhunt for Murphy, a go-go dancer. It took them as far south as North Carolina. They also made another arrest yesterday of a family friend, Joseph Reese (ph). He was charged and arraigned yesterday on sexual assault charges for assaulting one of the boys.
Now, back on Saturday, they found two of the boys locked in Sherry Murphy's basement in Newark. She had been caring for the boys while their mother was serving a five month prison sentence for child abuse. They also went back to the home on Sunday when the boys reported a brother was missing for several weeks. They found the body of 7-year-old Faheem Williams in a storage bin. And now the charges against Sherry Murphy, three charges of child endangerment, may include further charges as police continue their investigation that Faheem Williams' case has been ruled a homicide.
She will be arraigned later today. We are expecting a press conference at 10:30. Meanwhile, New Jersey's governor, Jim McGreevey, and the commissioner who oversees the division of Youth and Family Services here in New Jersey, the division that was supervising the children's care and had closed their case, has declared a state of emergency and instituted new rules that no longer can cases be closed where open abuse allegations are contained, where the children have not been personally visited -- Paula.
ZAHN: I guess that's the travesty of the story. And we'll be looking forward to hearing those details later on.
And, Jamie, now that you're done with your report, we wanted to welcome you aboard. I think this is the first report you've filed for AMERICAN MORNING.
COLBY: Thanks, Paula.
ZAHN: Glad to have you with us.
COLBY: Thank you.
ZAHN: Look forward to having more of your contributions.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Child Abuse>
