Rasheed Muhammad

Case record: Rasheed Muhammad

Timeline

• April 4, 1995 — A 29-year-old homeless man, Rasheed Muhammed, was described as having kidnapped and killed 8-year-old Jakiyah McClain.
• February 9, 1998 — Muhammad was sentenced to life without parole on the murder charge and received a consecutive fifty-year term with a twenty-five-year parole disqualifier for the kidnapping.

Background

Rasheed Muhammad kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and murdered eight-year-old Jakiyah McClain. Muhammad was twenty-nine years old at the time of the offense. The victim went to her friend's apartment building to play.

Muhammad offered evidence during the penalty phase that his parents abused drugs and alcohol, that both parents abandoned and neglected him, that he saw his mother stab his father at age three, that his mother's lover physically abused him, that he began running away from home at age ten, that he was improperly advanced through school, that he was sexually abused as a child, that he began abusing drugs at age twelve, that he had abused heroin, cocaine, and alcohol on a daily basis for twenty years, that he suffered several concussions and other untreated head injuries, that he suffered from emotional instability resulting in two suicide attempts, and that he suffered severe emotional trauma when he fought for and lost custody of his two children.

The offence

Jakiyah McClain asked if she could play at her best friend's house a block away. Her mother, Pamela McClain (29, of Newark), said yes if she didn't stay too long. Jakiyah arrived at the Maxeys' first-floor apartment at 136 Hawthorne Avenue. Ahtavia Maxey (9) walked to school and played with Jakiyah together. Ahtavia could not have company unless her mother said it was O.K.

On Saturday about 5 P.M., when Jakiyah arrived at the Maxeys' apartment, Ahtavia's mother, Neshelle Maxey, was visiting a neighbor one floor up. Jakiyah then saw Rasheed Muhammed in the hallway, who offered to take her upstairs. Lieut. Vincent Gagliano, commander of the Newark police homicide unit, said:

"Ahtavia told us later she heard the victim crying and saying, 'Stop, stop.' She said she heard kicking or banging on a door."

The next day, police found the victim's body under a pile of clothes in a closet. The autopsy revealed that the victim had been sexually assaulted and died of asphyxiation. The girl had been smothered.

Investigation

Police knocked on Muhammad's door, and he invited them in. Police found the victim's body under a pile of clothes in a closet. An autopsy revealed that the victim had been sexually assaulted and died of asphyxiation.

The building superintendent told police that he had given Muhammad permission to stay in an abandoned apartment in the building.

Lieut. Vincent Gagliano said that when Jakiyah had not returned home by 8:30 P.M., Pamela McClain started looking for her, notified the police, and a search began. He also said that later Ahtavia told the police about the man she had seen. Detectives repeated Ahtavia's description to the building superintendent, who said that a homeless man fitting that description sometimes stayed in No. 14, a vacant third-floor apartment with no lock on the door.

When officers knocked on the door of No. 14, the suspect answered. Lieut. Gagliano said:

"They asked if this was his apartment, and he said no," the lieutenant said. "They found mattresses, crack vials, beer cans and old food. Garbage was thrown all over. A detective opened a bedroom closet and found large piles of soiled clothing. When he started sifting through the clothing, he felt a foot. When he moved the rest of the clothing, he found her."

Police were also described as speaking with the building superintendent after the investigation began.

Arrest

Muhammad was charged on Sunday with murder, sexual aggravated assault and kidnapping.

Trial

The jury convicted Muhammad of purposeful-or-knowing murder, felony murder, kidnapping, and two counts of aggravated sexual assault.

Muhammad's conviction included finding the c(4)(g) (contemporaneous felony) and c(4)(k) (victim less than fourteen years old) aggravating factors, and the jury found all of the catchall mitigating factors. The jury was hung on the death penalty.

Sentencing

During the penalty phase, Muhammad offered evidence of abuse and neglect by his parents, including that he saw his mother stab his father at age three, that his mother's lover physically abused him, and other matters described in his evidence.

The jury found the c(4)(g) and c(4)(k) aggravating factors and all catchall mitigating factors, but was hung on the death penalty.

Muhammad was sentenced to life without parole on the murder charge, and a consecutive fifty-year term and twenty-five-year parole disqualifier for the kidnapping.

Appeals

No appeal information was included.

Outcome

Muhammad was convicted of purposeful-or-knowing murder, felony murder, kidnapping, and two counts of aggravated sexual assault, and he was sentenced to life without parole on the murder charge plus a consecutive fifty-year term and a twenty-five-year parole disqualifier for the kidnapping.

Aftermath

Pamela McClain and her fiancé, Paul Davis, had been planning a wedding in September, and they were planning a funeral after Jakiyah's death. Paul Davis said:

"Jakiyah was like my daughter," Mr. Davis said.

Pamela McClain said:

"She was only 8," Ms. McClain said. "She was a second-grade honor roll student. I'm just missing her smile."

Lieut. Vincent Gagliano described Ahtavia as telling police about the man she had seen and described the investigation leading to the discovery of the body.

Other details

Muhammad had prior convictions for larceny, breaking and entering, and breaking into a coin-operated machine, and he was on probation at the time of the offense.

Muhammad was described in the account as a childhood friend of Jakiyah McClain's fiance.

The suspect name was spelled as Rasheed Muhammed in the account; the case name was Rasheed Muhammad.