Aunt of Girl, 8, Who Vanished From Shelter Thinks Janitor Took Answers to Grave With Suicide
Eight-year-old Relisha Rudd lived with her mother, Shemika Young, and three siblings at Washington, D.C.’s General homeless shelter.
She was known to love the color purple and flash her gap-toothed smile around the halls of the shelter.
But on March 20, 2014, a chain of events led her elementary school to report her missing after a social worker noticed an extensive list of school absences and couldn’t locate her at the shelter.
After a series of interviews, officials learned Relisha was last seen with the shelter’s janitor, 51-year-old Khalil Tatum, an ex-con who had been buying her gifts and taking her on outings.
A massive search began for the girl. In the following days, officials released surveillance footage of the girl in a hotel hallway with Tatum, which had been recorded nearly a month before she was reported missing.
In the video, Relisha is wearing a pair of pink boots and a purple Helly Hansen brand jacket with white stripes. It was the last known sighting of the girl.
On April 1, 2014, Tatum was found deceased in the area of the Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens in Northeast Washington, D.C. from an apparent suicide. At the time, an arrest warrant had been issued for Tatum after his 51-year-old wife’s body had been found inside a separate motel room.
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The community and Relisha’s family was devastated to learn Tatum hadn’t left any clues regarding the girl’s whereabouts.
Young’s sister Ashley Young, 32, says Tatum took the answers to their questions with him when he died.
“This man knows where she’s at,” Ashley says with frustration in her voice.
Ashley says Shemika is heartbroken over the disappearance of her daughter. It’s difficult for the family to talk about, she adds.
Relisha was filled with a lot of love, Ashley says.
Still, the family has not given up hope that they’ll be reunited with Relisha someday.
“My body and soul is not allowing me to believe she’s deceased,” Ashley says. “I’m hopeful she’s found safe and alive and will be returned home.”
Call Metropolitan Police at 202-727-9099 with any information regarding Relisha Rudd.
