Wrongfully accused...

  My little cousin Skyy‬ Raven Marie Mims is being wrongly accused and was arrested on 11 March 2014 for a Murder she could not have committed. The Whitfield Police Department charged her with killing a convenience store clerk, Dahyabhai Kalidas Chaudhari, on Sunday March 9th, 2014 at 11:50. Based on the evidence and numerous news reports, it would have been virtually impossible for Skyy Mims to have committed the murder...and the Whitfield Police Department knows this.

The emotional pain associated with the thought of losing a family member to murder is unimaginable. The emotional pain of being falsely accused of committing murder is equally unimaginable. Yet, the injustice of pinning a murder on an innocent bystander for the sake of convenience is, simply, unforgivable.

It appears as if the Whitfield Police Department has done just that. Here are the facts:

1. The surveillance footage does not connect Skyy Mims to the murder.

In most crime-related scenarios, the surveillance footage is examined, assessed, and used as evidence to identify the perpetrator. Similarly, it is often used to illuminate the crime scene and connect individuals to the crime.

In this convenience store murder, the police initially stated that the murder was not caught on tape. Subsequently, they stated that the murder was caught on tape and that the investigators had reviewed the footage. Skyy Mims was arrested but the footage never showed her actually entering or leaving the murder scene. Like every other customer from that day, the footage only shows her entering and leaving the store.

Why, then, was Skyy Mims arrested?

2. The surveillance footage clearly shows that Skyy Mims left the store more than two hours before the murder was committed.

It has been determined that the murder was committed between the hours of 11:15 pm and 12:30 am.

The first screenshot (captured by camera #5 at 10:08 pm) indicates that Skyy Mims entered the store at that time. She is wearing a black hoodie and is carrying a black bag on her left shoulder. She is also wearing gloves that are commonly used for hair dying – which she told a friend earlier that day, she would be doing that night.

The second screenshot (captured by camera #12) shows Skyy Mims in the back of the store – nearly an hour earlier at 9:23 pm. She is dressed the same and the bag is still over her left shoulder. There is no sign of blood, a murder weapon, or physical disarray commonly associated with a struggle, let alone a murder. The only logical conclusion is that this camera has not been adjusted for Daylight Savings Time which occurred at 2am (20 hours earlier). If this was indeed the case, then the footage proves that Skyy Mims entered the store at 10:08pm and was leaving from the back of the store at 10:23pm – 15 minutes later. In that light, it is impossible for a 135 pound woman to subdue a 200+ pound man, tie him up, stab him several times, then walk out casually without any signs of disarray, blood stains, sweat, or any other evidence to indicate that a murder had been committed.

It should also be noted that the position of Skyy Mims’ feet do not indicate that she was walking from the back room (where the murder, reportedly, took place). Her footing indicates that she was turning the corner from her left. Moreover, it stands to reason that, if she had actually committed the murder, she would not have left the door opened and walked out so casually.

So, why, then, was Skyy Mims arrested?

3. An eyewitness testimony indicates that the murder victim was alive nearly an hour after Skyy Mims had already left the store.

Around 11:15 pm, 32-year-old Charles David Branson, went to the convenience store to buy beer. According to him, the store’s owner, Chaudhari, told him that he couldn't sell alcohol on Sundays1. Branson said the clerk was smiling, but his eyes were red, as if he had been crying.

Branson then walked to another part of the store to use an ATM. With his back to the counter, he said that he heard Chaudhari moaning. By the time he collected his money and turned around, though, Chaudhari had disappeared. “He must be in the back room,” Branson thought, “or playing a trick on me.”

Branson then said that he waited near the counter for about 10 more minutes. That would put the estimated time at about 11:30 pm. According to Branson, other customers came into the store at this time and they all talked about how long the wait was. The other customers left, some even left their payments on the counter but, Branson stayed. None of those customers reported seeing Skyy Mims in the store during the clerk’s absence time.

Again, according to Branson, he went to the bathroom at this time. While he was in there, he said that he heard what he thought were a man and woman arguing. He doesn't know what they were saying. He said that they were arguing in another language similar to Arabic or Indian, then everything fell silent.

Charles David Branson, states that, when he came out of the bathroom at around 11:35pm, he saw a woman behind the counter and that he was only a few feet away from her [the clerks body not seen near the deli area at this time]. According to him, this woman was dressed in all white and was wearing blue sunglasses. Specifically, she wore a white sweatshirt with the hood pulled tight and blue sunglasses that were so big that they covered most of her face [Skyy Mims was not wearing this attire]. All Branson could see was her nose, mouth and chin.

He states that this woman yelled at him. He says that she told him that she was Chaudhari's wife, and the two were working through marital problems. “You have to leave!” she said. “You have to go! We're closing early!” Branson and the strange woman continued in a verbal altercation for a short time. Branson reported that he left. The estimated time of Branson’s departure was around 11:40pm. Charles Branson then stated that he came back after midnight because he left his debit card on the counter. Why would Mr. Branson have put his card on the counter after using the ATM, if he were arguing with the clerk? (Times Free Press)

The 911 call came in right before midnight at 11:59pm by Mark Rogers, a friend of the clerk. Mark Rogers, who is estimated to have arrived at 11:56pm, stated: “Once I walked into the store, I hollered for Dicky and he wasn’t up front or anything,” Rogers continued. “I walked over to the register and noticed there was change and stuff laying back behind the register. Then after that I kind of walked around the corner to the office to see where he was at. I found him laying there in the floor in a big pool of blood and everything. I went back outside and called 911.” Mr. Rogers found Chaudhari near the deli section of the store, which by his estimation indicates is about 10 to 15 feet from the cash register. Not exactly inside of the back room as stated by other reports. The store clerk was found flat on his back, with his eyes and mouth duct-taped shut. Reports state that Mr. Rogers did not see Skyy Mims at any time (Daily Citizen).

So, why, then, was Skyy Mims arrested?

4. There is no evidence linking Skyy Mims to the murder but there are a lot of unanswered questions regarding individuals who were in the store at the time of the murder.

- Surveillance footage shows Skyy Mims in the store around 10:23 which indicates that she could not have murdered the clerk who was alive an hour later at 11:30.

- Witnesses say that they saw Skyy Mims outside of the store for a short period of time. This would support the supposition that she was passing out copies of her mix-tapes (music samples). She had been doing this at various stores and gas stations since arriving in Atlanta a month earlier.

- The initial reports stated that the perpetrator ran away on foot. Later it was disclosed that the murderer drove away. What caused the discrepancy?

- Did the police find the stolen lottery tickets and cash on Mims or among her belongings when the search for evidence was conducted? If not, who has those items?

- Skyy wore gloves and a covered her hair because she just dyed her hair or was on her way to do so. As evidenced in her photos, her hair went from orange to platinum blond overnight.

- Charles Branson was said to have been in the store the entire time leading up to and beyond Dahyabhai Chaudhari’s death. Why did Charles Branson stick around the store longer than Skyy? Why was he not also on the surveillance footage that was provided to the news media and investigators? Why isn’t he a suspect?

- Charles Branson says that he heard Dahyabhai Chaudhari and a woman arguing in another language similar to Arabic or Indian, then falling silent. None of the other customers reported hearing this argument. Skyy Mims doesn’t speak another language.

- Surekha Chaudhari, is the only known woman in Whitfield who could fit the description of a the female that told Charles Branson that she was married to the store clerk; whom speaks the clerk’s native language. Was she arguing with him in the back room where his body was found? Why isn't she being questioned? Was she married to Mr. Chaudhari? What were they arguing about? How was it resolved? Did she have a lover whom she let into the back of the store to murder her husband? Where was she when her “husband” was being murdered?

- The victim had his mouth and eye taped and had been stabbed several times. This type of violence indicates a psychological connection and/or extreme hatred. This type of violence is normally associated with people in personal relationships. Skyy Mims did not personally know the store clerk.

- Individuals of the town say they known Dahyabhai Chaudhari for over six months yet he is said to have only been in the country for a few weeks. Why the discrepancy?

- How did the Whitfield Police Department immediately identify Skyy Mims as the suspect rather than all individuals around at the time of victim’s death? Skyy’s information is only readily available on her mix tapes that she frequently passes out, is that what the Police Department used? Was it because she was the only African-American person on the surveillance video? Skyy Mims clearly isn't expressing as if she is guilty.

- If the "friend" of the owner of the gas station allegedly knew Skyy spent 20 minutes taking lottery tickets and money, why didn't she/he call the police?

- What did the autopsy indicate? According to initial reports Mr. Chaudhari’s body was to be shipped to India. Now, why is it being reported that the body will be cremated when that practice is not a cultural norm.

If she could not have committed the murder and has no reason for doing so, why then, was Skyy Mims arrested?

To conclude, there is no motive. No murder weapon. No evidence and, apparently, no investigation into the murder of the clerk.

The Whitfield Police Department is either too incompetent to find the real murderer or too complacent to care about exposing the truth. Apparently it is easier to blame the murder on a 21 year-old, 135 pound, African-American, female than to conduct a real investigation and come to a plausible conclusion. Perhaps they are just too embarrassed to request further professional help. Subsequently, the Whitfield Police Department is out of their league with regards to properly investigating a murder.

It appears as if individuals in the Whitfield Police Department is trying to make a name for themselves by taking credit for solving a murder case...and they are eagerly willing to ignore the facts and sacrifice the truth in order to do so. This does not reflect well on the leadership of that police department nor our justice system. One would think that, in light of racial profiling practices and racially sparked incidents, the law enforcement agencies would take precautions to uphold the law and not ignore it.

- To date, the police are trying to coerce Skyy Mims to plead insanity so they can justify their erroneous arrest. It is a last ditch, openly desperate measure to justify the incompetence of arresting an innocent by-stander. Skyy is not crazy and has no history of any psychological tendencies. She is an educated African-American. For the Whitfield Police Department, that seems to be enough.

So, why, then, was Skyy Mims arrested?

Was it because she was there and she was the only African-American around at the time? Because she is indigent with a promising future? Because she sings rap music so she must have murderous tendencies? Maybe it is that she was arrested because it is easier for everyone to believe a “black” female can commit murder than to admit that a small-town police department has no idea where to truly begin in a murder investigation.

Based on the facts, that seems to be the only explanation for why Skyy Mims was arrested.

FOOT NOTES

1. Kanku’s Express high-tech fuel station is a 24 hour convenience store and alcohol sales, by law, do not end until 11:30 pm on Sundays (Times Free Press Alcohol).

SOURCES
1. (Deadline Detroit) http://www.deadlinedetroit.com/articles/8697/from_detroit_runways_to_georgia_cell_model_held_in_murder2. (Channel 9 News) http://www.newschannel9.com/news/top-stories/stories/accused-killer-back-whitfield-county-after-capture-9522.shtml3. (Daily Mail) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2579771/Skyy-Mims-21-arrested-stabbing-death-store-clerk-handful-lottery-tickets.html4. (WRCBTV) http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/24958052/only-on-3-how-model-turned-murder-suspect-spent-hours-before-arrest5. (Daily Citizen) http://m.daltondailycitizen.com/TDC/db_/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=ovmiGnLW&full=true#display6. (Times free Press) http://m.timesfreepress.com/news/2014/mar/14/crime-lab-report-slain-dalton-store-clerk-was-stab/7. (Chron) http://m.chron.com/news/crime/article/Report-Slain-store-clerk-s-mouth-eyes-taped-shut-5313559.php8. (Times free Press) http://m.timesfreepress.com/news/2014/mar/13/new-details-emerge-about-a-convenience-store/Ylet Noelle Skyy Raven-marie Mims Teri Williams Venus Mansell
- The Daily Citizen : ‘He did not deserve to die like a dog’
Before Skyy Raven-Marie Mims went into the gas station where authorities say she killed the clerk, the 21-year-old sat by herself on the side of the curb and waited. For perhaps 30 or 45 minutes late Sunday night, Mims sat outside Hi-Tech Fuel at 3385 Airport Road, store manager Ron Williamson said…
m.daltondailycitizen.com
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Update: Detroit Model-Singer, 21, Has First Court Hearing In Georgia Slaying

deadlinedetroit.com

Skyy Raven Marie Mims, shown posing at Wayne State last fall, is arraigned on a murder charge and has another court appearance Friday morning....