Latasha Norman's Relative

I get to grandma's house, and Keisha was saying, Tasha's missing.

You can skip that. I don't want to talk about it.

I thought I was in a nightmare because you see things like this on TV all the time, but never in a million years would I have thought that, hey, this is actually happening to someone in my family, like missing. The next day, the cousins and the rest of the family decided, hey, we're going to go to Jackson on our own, and we're going to look for Tasha. We started formulating search teams.

We put up flyers. We walked door to door, mainly in the area of where Jackson State was.

All these are her trophies. And this right here is when she was 10 years old. She was a Girl Scout. And I kept it.

We didn't know much about him. Of course, our minds wondered, had he done something to her?

when Tasha went missing. It was a very dark spot for everyone. I had a few friends and classmates who attended Jackson State during that time. You're supposed to feel safe when you're off to college, and for that to happen, you know, everyone was in fear. I can recall one of my friends calling and texting me every day. She would always say, like, Nikki, this can't be real.

We're all on this college campus. That could have been one of us.

So the first two and a half years of Latasha being at Jackson State, she dated Stanley. They dated on and off.

When Latasha was, you know, dating Stanley, she told me that he had slapped her. I had went through domestic violence. So I told Latosha, I said, because what happened with me, I'm just going to let you know, if he did it once, he would do it again. It's time for you to let him go. You know, you move on, let him move on. And I just kept it between us.

After she went missing, that was the first time that my family knew that he had placed his hands on her before because I had never said anything to anyone about the first incident.

I was shocked that Stanley had put his hands on Latasha again. I just couldn't believe that Latasha didn't come to me and tell me. But I kind of understood at the same time the reason why she didn't tell me. After they had called it quits, I told Stanley if I found out that he put his hands on her again, he was going to see me and Jackson. He promised that he wouldn't bother her.

He would cut all ties and communications. He was out of her life, to our knowledge. I just hate that I reacted the way I did. that I made LaTosha afraid to come to me the next time, but I was proud of her at the same time. I was proud of LaTosha that she did step up and take other actions when Stanley placed his hands on her again.

She was the only daughter I had, and I was very proud of her. Every picture she had, she always had that smile on her face. You never seen her angry. That's the type of person LaTosha Norman was.

As time started to dwindle down and we continued to hear bits and pieces that LaTosha had been physically abused by Stanley, you go from being hopeful to like, well, it's not looking good.

My aunt took it really hard to see her, like, not being able to eat and not being able to sleep. It was heartbreaking. When one family member hurts, all of us hurt.

Latasha was born April 21, 1987, here in Greenville, Mississippi. We have a huge family, a very close-knit family. I am 10 years older than her, so she was more like my little sister.

Just the thought of them finding blood in the trunk of the car. My heart dropped. It was like I was reliving that nightmare from the very first day she went missing on November 14th of 2007.

When we were younger, she started out wanting to be a teacher, because we played teachers a lot. But as Tasha got older, she switched to accounting. And I think that had a lot to do with following behind Keisha's footsteps.

Throughout that time that Tasha was missing, Stanley was looking or acting as if he was looking for her. People thought that he was genuinely concerned. I know I did.

I taught her, whatever you do, don't never give up. Do your best in everything you do, because you can always go up higher. And as she grew up, she did. She did her best. She didn't sell it for less.

I would have never in a million years thought that Stanley would take her life. Like, that was the last thought on my mind.

If... I'm sorry. Sometimes I feel like if I had answered my phone to see what was going on with Tasha. I possibly could have prevented something or just said something to her to avoid what Stanley had done. I just hate that I reacted the way I did. The first time that I had learned that he hit her, I felt like she didn't want to put me in any danger.

In high school, at first she was kind of shy.

Latasha always followed in my footsteps. I played the flute, Tasha played the flute. I was a majorette, Tasha was a majorette. I was on the dance line, Tasha was on the dance line.

After she became a major, she really came out of her shell.

Did you know that defendant Cole had been violent towards LaTosha? No, because I warned Mr. Cole from the beginning that I was the type of gentleman that I did not tolerate that type of stuff.

She was that beacon of light that when she smiled, you smiled. She had that caring heart. There was nothing you couldn't ask Latasha to do for you that she wouldn't do. Latasha.

It was hard to keep your composure, so there were times that, you know, I had to step out.

Stanley would be held accountable for it. It was just a sense of relief.

It was not manslaughter. Murder. It was murder.

You forgive and you move on. You don't forget it, but you move on.

On a day past that I don't think about Tasha, But I know God, through him, he give me grace.

I wouldn't want another parent to have to live and go through what we went through. Nobody.

Don't stay silent. Just speak out and tell someone. Because it is hip out there at Jackson State. in honor of our daughter Latasha Norman. They have this domestic violence center in honor of her.

My father played football at Jackson State. My uncles played football at Jackson State. One of my uncles even went pro playing professional football. I knew that she wouldn't break the family tradition.

For Jackson State University to step up and name the Latasha Norman Counseling Center, that was amazing.

I talk to my kids about her. My daughter, I tell her, you have an open line of community. There's nothing you can't come to me or be afraid to say to me.

After losing her, I went back to school to get my master's in counseling, just to bring awareness and be that safe person for people to talk to. She just inspired me to want to be that voice and help others so we can save some people.

A lot of prominent people in the community went to Jackson State and graduated.

In her senior year in high school, she dated a guy older than LaTosha. Stanley was finished with high school and he wasn't, you know, in college or anything.

When LaTosha decided to go to Jackson State, she encouraged Stanley to go.

I think Tasha just really pushed him to his full potential in a lot of areas, including family, including school, just different things in his life.

Latasha was extremely excited to be in college. She was excited to be on Jackson State campus. She was enjoying the campus life. She didn't go out much as far as she would tell me, you know.

Latasha had plans for her and Keisha to open up an accounting firm back home once she finished college.

She kept her grades up. She kept on being on the Dean list at Jackson State University. She kept on working. She kept on, you know, doing her.

In the fall of 2007, her and Stanley had went their separate ways. Stanley had moved on, and he was dating someone else. LaTosha started dating another guy. His name was Marquis. They seemed to be getting along pretty well. He looked out for her. There was times when she was having problems with her car, and he was there.

At this point in life, I would say that she was happy.

The day after we had gotten a chance to meet Marquise, Latasha called me. I can tell by the tone of her voice that something wasn't right. But when she called, I was busy at the time. And so I told her I would give her a call back once I leave my meeting. I called her the next day and I didn't get an answer.

Sometimes I feel like if I had answered my phone, I possibly could have prevented something.

He just disappeared. You're supposed to feel safe when you're off to college. And for that to happen, you know, everyone was in fear.

My mom called, and she was like, have you talked to Tasha? She told me that my aunt and uncle were headed to Jackson because Latasha hadn't reported to class. And they were worried. At that point, my heart dropped. because I knew, you know, something was going on with her because of the tone of her voice a couple of days before that.