CLEVELAND — Cleveland Police say a case of road rage escalated into a fight that ended with 26-year-old Heaven Williams being run over and killed.
Heaven’s cousin called me and said she feared the case wasn’t getting enough attention.
So, I sat down with Heaven’s mother, Latanya Williams. She’s grieving and frustrated by a lack of answers from police. She’s also outraged that her daughter’s death was recorded, with some videos showing up on social media.
Latanya shared a video with me taken at her youngest daughter’s sweet 16 birthday party on Nov. 4. In the video, you see Heaven dancing and singing.
"Heaven bought her sister a dress, she got her hair done, and we just was catching up on old times,” Latanya said.
Two weeks later, Latanya’s world shattered when she learned Heaven was dead.
"I just don't know what's true and what's not true,” Latanya said.
She’s experienced a lot of emotions, including frustration fueled by the few details she said police have shared- which is that late on Nov. 17, officers were called to Broadway Avenue and Jones Road, where they found two vehicles in a crash, and a woman assaulted and lying in the street without a shirt.
The police report indicates it was a road rage incident, but Latanya feels there's a lot more to what happened.
"So you think that this was a targeted attack?” I asked Latanya.
“Yes,” she said. "I think she knew these people.”
Latanya's also experienced heartbreak over videos she’s seen online, some sent to her, showing a large fight involving Heaven and several men and women, including someone on top of Heaven in the street and others standing near the front of the car that runs her over.
“Nothing I could do- with my daughter towards the end pleading and for her life,” Latanya said. "Ain't nothing I could do."
The next day, an arrest warrant was issued for 28-year-old Dachelle Carter for aggravated murder. Court documents state she ran over Heaven during a road rage incident.
Cleveland Police said no other suspects are currently being investigated, and anyone with information on the case of Carter’s whereabouts should contact them.
Latanya said more people need to be brought to justice.
“All of them should be locked up every single one that was out there putting their hands on my child,” she said.
And, she wishes people filming would have stepped in to help and that videos of what happened were never shared online.
“Evil just to sit there and record someone and not do nothing at all,” Latanya said.
Michael Benza is a professor of practice at Case Western Reserve University’s School of Law. He teaches about the rising trend of people posting crime videos online.
"The reality is everybody's walking around with their own TV studio in their back pocket,” Benza said.
He said it’s content they control in a world that rewards clicks and likes, and there’s no law requiring the average bystander to intervene or even call for help.
“There's nothing criminally you did wrong, but it's more of a moral question?” I asked Benza.
“Correct,” he said.
But he added that at the same time, what appears on social media can also help crack cases and investigators search for clues.
“Because they know that that evidence actually can exist in cases- where it never would have existed before,” Benza said.
Benza said, based on the videos he saw, it wouldn’t be surprising if more people end up facing charges related to Heaven’s death.
“And what we will find often is that when you make the first arrest it sort of has a domino effect,” Benza said.
Latanya is choosing to treasure the video taken at the birthday party. It’s a reminder of how Heaven lived.
“Her personality and her smile… it would light up the room,” Latanya said.
It’s also a reminder of her wish for more time together.
Damon Maloney is a Cuyahoga County and We Follow Through anchor at News 5 Cleveland. Follow him on X @DMaloneyTV, on Facebook DamonMaloneyTV or email him at Damon.Maloney@wews.com.
