The Murder of Sherita Williams

For this case, I watched an episode of Nightmare Next Door. It’s season 7 episode 7, titled ‘Out of the Past.’

A 16-year-old girl disappears after leaving the nail salon.

Background

Sherita Williams was a 16-year-old high school student. She lived with her parents, Wilma and Harry, and her two siblings in Pennsauken, New Jersey.

Sherita was excited to start looking at colleges. She wanted to become a social worker, and help people. In her free time, Sherita loved going to get her nails, hair, and eyebrows done. She also really enjoyed spending time with her friends.

*Sherita with her parents, Wilma and Harry*

The Appointment

On November 28, 2003, Sherita left to go to the salon around 5pm with her best friend. It was about a 5-minute walk from her house. Sherita told her family she would be back later, but she never came home.

Wilma assumed that Sherita had just fallen asleep at her friend’s house, which wasn’t out of the ordinary as it had happened before. But, by the next morning, Sherita still hadn’t returned home.

Wilma contacted Sherita’s friend, and was shocked to learn that the two of them hadn’t met at the salon. On this episode, Wilma said she just knew something was wrong.

The Bridge

Wilma and Harry drove around Pannsauken looking for Sherita. Based on a tip from one of Sherita’s friends, they ended up driving near the 36th Street bridge to look around. Wilma then saw what looked like a man lying in the gravel without a coat on. Wilma contacted the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office.

The victim under the bridge was that of a teenage girl. The victim matched Sherita’s description. Sherita’s purse was found nearby and her ID was inside.

Sherita was found lying face up in the dirt. Her shirt was torn open, her pants were unbuttoned, and her hands were tied behind her back. There were no visible injuries to her body.

Sherita’s underwear had been ripped off, leaving red marks around her waist. The police believed the crime was sexually motivated and that Sherita may have been sexually assaulted. Her underwear was found at the scene near her body.

A durag was found around Sherita’s neck, and may have been used to cover her mouth. Two plastic bags had been found in Sherita’s mouth. They appeared to be from a nearby sporting goods store. There was a receipt for a black t-shirt inside one of them. The receipt was dated from the same day that Sherita went missing around 4:28pm.

Wilma and Harry were notified about Sherita’s death.

Possible Suspects

The police wondered how Wilma and Harry had known to search near the bridge. Wilma told the police that one of Sherita’s friends had mentioned the 36th Street bridge to her when she was calling around searching for Sherita. The friend had mentioned that Sherita was afraid to walk over that bridge.

The police were able to confirm that Sherita had arrived at her nail appointment. Sherita was seen on surveillance footage in the salon leaving around 6pm. She left the salon alone.

The police were focusing on Sherita’s friend, and how she may have known that Sherita would be at the 36th Street bridge. Harry believed that her friend knew more, or may have been involved.

The police went to speak to her. She claimed that she had a hunch as to where Sherita may have been, and casually mentioned it to Wilma. She said Sherita may have taken that route to visit a boy she liked.

Sherita’s crush was a bit of a player, and apparently had several girlfriends. The police went to speak to him, and his mother was also present. He admitted that Sherita had come by that night around 6:30pm. He said he never saw her because he was resting before work. He worked as a night shift security guard. His mom had answered the door, and talked to Sherita. She said she didn’t let Sherita into the house that night, and admitted to not liking Sherita.

After she left his house, he said Sherita tried to call him repeatedly from a payphone on 32nd Street. She was angry that his mom didn’t let her inside the house. He said Sherita called about 15 times.

He was asked to take a lie detector test at the police station. He passed it, and there was no evidence that he was involved.

A Cold Case

Sherita’s autopsy confirmed that she had been sexually assaulted. A semen stain was found on one of her legs. Sherita’s cause of death was determined to be asphyxiation.

After the first two suspects hadn’t panned out, the police took a closer look at the evidence. They took another look at the receipt found in the plastic bag. They went to the nearby mall to check surveillance footage. However, the surveillance cameras weren’t working at the time.

The police did receive a tip. One person said they saw one of Sherita’s male friends driving near the bridge on the night of the murder. The tipster said that she may have seen Sherita in his car. This male was the boyfriend of one of Sherita’s friends. There were rumors that he also liked Sherita.

The police knew that Sherita had been using the payphone. They wondered if Sherita knew the only person that had a car and called him. If the rumors were true that he liked her, then he probably would’ve easily said yes to giving her a ride.

The police asked him to come into the station for an interview. He appeared to be nervous, but cooperative. He did admit that he liked Sherita. He denied being with her on the night of the murder, and said it had been a different night that she was in his car near the bridge. He didn’t have an airtight alibi. He said he had picked up his girlfriend at her job at the mall, and then went home. There was no evidence that he was involved.

The DNA Sample

Sherita’s case went cold for about 3 months. After several months, the police received a call from the crime lab. The crime lab had collected a DNA sample from a semen stain that had been left on Sherita’s pants. The police collected samples from both of their male suspects. Neither of them were a match.

The police ran the DNA sample through CODIS. There was no match. The case again went cold again, this time for several years.

Harry contacted the police every week to check in on the process of the case.

In March 2007, the police learned that someone new had been added to CODIS. They were a match to the semen sample collected from Sherita’s pants.

The DNA sample was a match to Warren Dixon. No one had heard of Warren, but they learned that he was an odd kid that attended the same school as Sherita. He had dropped out of school shortly after Sherita’s murder. He then moved to Pennsylvania, and had been arrested on drug charges 2 years after Sherita’s murder.

The Conviction

Warren eventually moved back to New Jersey, and was easy to track down. Warren had to attend weekly probation meetings. The police went to one of his meetings, and asked him to come into the station for an interview.

During the time of the murder, Warren had lived with his dad 2 blocks away from the bridge. It’s believed that he had intercepted Sherita that night after she left her crush’s house.

During his police interview, he appeared very calm, but couldn’t focus on the conversation. His social skills were lacking.

Warren admitted to knowing Sherita, but had only heard about her murder on the news. Half way through the interview, the police confronted Warren about finding his DNA at the crime scene. He admitted that he had sex with Sherita that night.

It wasn’t until Warren’s 2nd police interview that he confessed. He admitted to making a pass at Sherita. Sherita rejected him, so he killed her. It’s believed that he had been walking home from the mall and crossed paths with Sherita. Sherita recognized him from school, and stopped to chat with him. The police still aren’t sure why Warren stuffed the two plastic bags into Sherita’s mouth.

Warren Dixon was convicted of aggravated manslaughter and attempted aggravated assault. He was sentenced to 20 years with the possibility of parole. He will be eligible for parole in 2026.

FINAL THOUGHTS

It’s a very terrifying thought that this man could be released in 3 years. I believe he would 100% do this again. Warren barely knew Sherita, and attacked and killed her when she rejected him. He then was sentenced to a lousy 20 years in prison. I agree with Harry and Wilma that the sentence is too damn short. Sherita was only 16-years-old, and had her whole life ahead of her.

Sources

https://thecinemaholic.com/sherita-williams-murder-where-is-warren-dixon-now/

https://abc7chicago.com/archive/6636127/

https://www.nj.com/camden/2011/06/camden_man_to_serve_20_years_f_1.html

https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/man-arrested-for-murder-of-sherita-williams/1869324/