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Rising Young Lawyer Tragically Slashed to Death · Murder Files Unsealed

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  Speaker 1: All right, buckle up, everybody, because today we're diving headfirst
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  into a true crime case that shook Baton Rouge Louisiana,
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  the murder of Chiquita Tate. You guys sent in so
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  much on this one, and let me tell you, it's
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  a wild ride.
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  Speaker 2: It really is. You think you've got it figured out
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  and then bam, another twist.
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  Speaker 1: Right. So, Chiquita Tate, she was this rising star, a
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  criminal defense attorney who was making a real name for herself.
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  Everyone knew she was passionate about justice, always fighting tooth
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  and nail for her clients. I mean she even had
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  a Lady Justice tattoo.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and that tattoo it's not just ink, you know,
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  it speaks to how much she believed in the law,
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  almost like a personal crusade totally.
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  Speaker 1: She was the first in her family to go to college,
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  built a law practice from the ground up, real success story.
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  But then February two thousand and nine, everything changes. Shikita's
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  found murdered in her office.
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  Speaker 2: And it wasn't pretty. We're talking over thirty stab wounds,
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  signs of a struggle. Whoever did this, they weren't messing around.
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  This was rage, pure.
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  Speaker 1: Rage, chilling right, and the killer kept stabbing her even
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  after she was dead. That's personal, don't you think so? Naturally,
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  the police start with the husband, Greg Harris.
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  Speaker 2: Standard procedure. At first glance, he's playing the part of
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  the grieving husband. But then boom, you discover there's an
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  open domestic violence warned against him from just a few
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  months back.
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  Speaker 1: Yikes. And you can hear the fear in Cheqita's voice
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  on that nine to one one call from the incident.
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  Their relationship well maybe not as picture perfect as Greg's
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  trying to make it seem.
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  Speaker 2: You got that, right, And that brings up a huge question, right,
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  if there's a history of violence, did it escalate, did
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  it lead to this?
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  Speaker 1: That's what investigators were trying to figure out. Greg initially
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  claimed he had an alibi. He told the police he
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  stopped by Chikda's office that night to bring her dinner,
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  said she was working late, so he just left.
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  Speaker 2: At first, nothing directly linked him to the crime scene,
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  but then the plot thickens. The police find Shakita's wallet
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  in a well, let's just say a rough part of
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  town called guard air Lane.
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  Speaker 1: Garter Lane. Okay, this is where it gets. It's interesting.
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  Remember Greg said he went straight home, right, Well that
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  wasn't entirely true. Turns out he was in Garter Lane
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  that night buying steroids.
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  Speaker 2: Big oops, Alibi's gun and all eyes are on him.
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  But wait, there's more. Remember the hare found in Shaqita's
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  hand at the crime scene. They thought it was the killers,
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  but it turned out to be from a weave. Guess
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  what the police found under Greg's bet a.
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  Speaker 1: Box of weaves?
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  Speaker 2: No way, a whole box. You can't make this stuff up.
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  Speaker 1: Hold up, I'm remembering something from the files. Greg's sister
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  called in this anonymous tip about a lesbian love triangle,
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  trying to throw the investigation off track. But guess what,
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  the police traced the call back to her. Wow, so
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  his sister tried to throw the cops off with a
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  fake tip. That's messed up.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean it makes you wonder if she was
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  trying to protect him right, Like, maybe she knew something
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  right And.
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  Speaker 1: It seems like every time the police turned around, they
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  found more evidence pointing to Greg. Turns out Shakeda had
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  rented an apartment just a month before she was killed,
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  told her she was planning on leaving Greg.
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  Speaker 2: And if you look at the bigger picture. He's got
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  money problems, the wife's about to walk out, and there's
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  that history of violence. It paints a pretty disturbing picture.
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  Speaker 1: And then there's the physical evidence, the blood they found
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  in their home, the weaves, and the blood on his stuff.
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  Greg couldn't hide from the truth. The police found his
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  and Chequedah's blood on his sunglasses, in his car, and
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  on a chlorox bottle at their house. Looks like someone
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  tried to clean up but wasn't very good at it.
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  Speaker 2: Yep, missed a few spots. And then there's that story
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  he told his boss. Remember he needed money and went
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  to his boss with the sob story about his brother
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  getting charged with murder. Totally fabricated.
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  Speaker 1: That's a bold move, desperate maybe definitely doesn't look good for.
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  Speaker 2: Him, no kidding. Oh, and let's not forget the ex
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  girlfriends they all told the police about Greg's violent tendencies.
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  More pieces to the puzzle.
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  Speaker 1: It all adds up, right, And then the final nail
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  in the coffin Greg's DNA under Chekeida's fingernails, game over no.
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  Speaker 2: Escaping, that she fought back hard and despite his whole
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  dinner alibi, his car got a parking ticket right outside
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  Chekita's office around the time of the murder. All signs
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  point to.
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  Speaker 1: Greg open and shut not so fast. There are still
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  some unanswered questions that make this case even more intriguing.
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  Like that DNA under Chekita's fingernails. Well, it wasn't just Greg's.
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  There was unidentified male DNA too.
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  Speaker 2: That's a big one. If it was just Greg, as
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  it seems, whose DNA is it? Was there someone else involved?
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  Speaker 1: And get this, there was no blood in the elevator,
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  the hallway, or even Shaquita's office, almost like she wasn't
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  even killed there.
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  Speaker 2: You're right, that's weird. No blood in those key areas.
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  It just doesn't add up.
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  Speaker 1: Someone went to a lot of trouble to clean everything
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  up to hide the truth.
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  Speaker 2: Makes you thing, doesn't it. It suggests premeditation planning.
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  Speaker 1: So are you saying Greg might have planned the whole
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  thing that he set Hikedah.
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  Speaker 2: Up, It's possible. We just don't know for sure if
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  it was premeditated or if something snapped in the moment.
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  But the missing blood is hard to ignore.
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  Speaker 1: You're right, But if he planned it, what about the
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  other DNA? What about the missing blood.
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  Speaker 2: This case, it's like a puzzle with some pieces missing,
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  and then there's the verdict manslaughter not murder.
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  Speaker 1: What happened there? Did Greg's lawyer pull a rabbit out
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  of a hat.
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  Speaker 2: It's impossible to know what the jury was thinking, but
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  maybe they believed Greg was just a heartbroken husband who
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  lost control, or maybe they felt the evidence wasn't quite
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  strong enough for murder.
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  Speaker 1: And remember, the jury misunderstood the sentencing guidelines. They thought
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  manslaughter carried the same penalty as murder.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, a big mix up. Even with good intentions, people
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  make mistakes, and sometimes those mistakes have big consequences.
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  Speaker 1: Definitely, especially for Chiquida's family and friends. They felt like
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  justice wasn't.
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  Speaker 2: Served, Absolutely heartbreaking. This case is a reminder that the
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  legal system can be a complicated beast and real people's
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  lives are at stake.
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  Speaker 1: So here we are Greg's behind bars, but with so
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  many unanswered questions, it feels like this story is not over.
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  Speaker 2: That's the nature of true crime, more questions than answers.
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  We examine the evidence, think about the motives, try to
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  fit the pieces together, but we don't always get the
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  full picture.
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  Speaker 1: Frustrating, right, But that's also what keeps us coming back,
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  makes you think way the evidence, draw your.
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  Speaker 2: Own conclusions exactly, And Chiquita's case, it's a reminder that
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  the search for justice never really ends.
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  Speaker 1: It's those unanswered questions that really get you, you know,
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  the brutality that twists and turns, and even after the trial,
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  there's still so much we don't know.
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  Speaker 2: It sticks with you. And when you think about Chiquita,
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  how bright, she was, so driven, it's just senseless.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, totally senseless. And it happened in her office, her
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  safe space. That just makes it even worse.
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  Speaker 2: It's a reminder that violence, it can happen anywhere to anyone.
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  Speaker 1: It really is. Let's go back to that unidentified DNA
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  under her nails. Yeah, it's always bothered me if Greg
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  did it, like the evidence says, whose DNA is that?
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  Speaker 2: Well, there are a few possibilities. Could be someone she
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  met with in the days before her death. Remember she
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  was a defense attorney. She met with all kinds of people,
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  a client, a witness, someone random she bumped into. It's
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  a long shot, but it's possible, right right.
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  Speaker 1: Or what if Greg didn't act alone, someone helped him
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  with the murder or cleaning up.
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  Speaker 2: That's another possibility, and it would explain the lack of blood.
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  Maybe they were trying to cover their tracks make it
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  look like Greg was alone.
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  Speaker 1: But why would they leave their DNA behind? That doesn't
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  seem too smart.
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  Speaker 2: You're right, it seems careless. But we are talking about
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  a crime scene that was messed with. Maybe the DNA
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  was planted, you know, to throw off the investigation.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, hold on, that sounds a little conspiracy theory ish.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, you're right. We got to stick to the facts.
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  But in this case, with so many unknowns, we have
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  to consider all the angles fair enough.
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  Speaker 1: So we've got the mystery DNA, a possible accomplice, and
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  then the lack of blood at the crime scene. No
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  blood in the elevator, the hallway, not even in her office.
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  It's almost like she wasn't killed there, like her body
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  was moved.
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  Speaker 2: That's sharp, you're right, the lack of blood. It's strange.
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  It makes you question what really.
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  Speaker 1: Went down, like someone really cleaned up, tried to hide
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  what happened.
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  Speaker 2: Exactly, and that kind of points to premeditation, right, like
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  it was planned.
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  Speaker 1: Are you saying Greg planned the whole thing lured her
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  there that night? Knowing he was going to kill her.
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  Speaker 2: It's a theory, but we can't say for sure without
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  more to go on, planned or spur the moment, We
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  just don't know.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I hear you. But even if he did plan it,
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  there's still the DNA and the missing blood.
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  Speaker 2: That's what makes this so fascinating, So many pieces that
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  just don't fit.
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  Speaker 1: And then there's the verdict manslaughter not murder. What happened
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  there was it?
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  Speaker 2: Greg's lawyer tough to say what the jury was thinking.
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  Maybe the defense convinced them that he was just a
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  heartbroken husband who snapped, or maybe they didn't think the
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  evidence was strong enough for a murder conviction.
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  Speaker 1: And then they said they messed up the sentencing guidelines,
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  thought manslaughter was the same as murder.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, that definitely didn't help. A reminder that juries are people,
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  and people make mistakes and sometimes those mistakes, well they
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  have big consequences.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah they do, And in this case, the consequences were
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  felt by Chiquida's family and friends who didn't feel like
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  they got justice.
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  Speaker 2: Awful this case. It shows how complicated the legal system
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  can be and real lives are impacted.
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  Speaker 1: So the killer's in prison, but there's all these questions.
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  It's hard to feel like this is really over.
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  Speaker 2: I get it. True crime. It often leaves us with
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  more questions than answers. We look at everything, we try
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  to piece it together, but the whole truth sometimes we
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  just never get there.
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  Speaker 1: Frustrating, right, but that's also what keeps us interested, makes
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  us think critically, look at the evidence, come to our
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  own conclusions.
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  Speaker 2: Exactly in Shaqda's case. It reminds us that searching for
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  justice it's an ongoing thing, so.
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  Speaker 1: True this case. It also makes you think about those
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  red flags, those gut feelings. In Chiquidah's case, the warning
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  signs were there, but people either missed them or ignored them.
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  Speaker 2: Right, intuition, observation, those are important. If something feels off
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  in a relationship, you have to trust your gut and
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  get help.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely, and maybe this case makes us think about it
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  our own biases. We see what we want to see,
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  believe what people want us to believe, especially with those
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  close to us.
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  Speaker 2: You hit the nail on the head. We want to
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  see the best in people, believe that the people we
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  love could never do something horrible. But reality it's not
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  always so simple.
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  Speaker 1: You're right, that's why these cases are so difficult. They
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  make us face those hard truths, question our own judgment,
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  and realize that sometimes the people we think we know
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  well they can really surprise us in the worst way.
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  Speaker 2: In justice, it's not always black and white. Greg's in prison,
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  but there's still this feeling of uncertainty, like we're missing something, like.
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  Speaker 1: A shadow hanging over everything makes it hard to feel
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  any closure.
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  Speaker 2: That's true crime for you. It's not just the facts,
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  it's the impact, the doubts, the search for meaning when
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  something so senseless happens.
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  Speaker 1: So as we keep digging into Chiquitah's story, I have
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  to ask, what do you think she'd want us to
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  take away from this? What can we learn from her
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  case to maybe prevent something like this from happening again.
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  Speaker 2: That's a good question. With her passion for justice, I
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  think she'd want us to be more aware, more alert,
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  more willing to speak up when something's wrong. She'd want
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  us to support victims of domestic violence, fight for their protection,
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  and never stop fighting for a world where everyone feels
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  safe and strong.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, and you know, it's not just about recognizing the
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  red flags and other people's relationships, but also in our
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  own lives right. Yeah, Like, we have to be honest
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  with ourselves and really take a look at our own
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  situations and if something feels off, if something feels wrong,
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  we can't just brush it aside.
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  Speaker 2: It's so easy to make excuses, right, like, oh, he
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  don't really mean it, or it'll get better. But sometimes
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  those red flags are there for a reason. They're trying
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  to tell us something.
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  Speaker 1: Exactly, and ignoring them can have well devastated consequences. Absolutely,
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  this case, it's a stark reminder that we can't afford
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  to be naive, you know, we have to be aware
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  of the potential for darkness, even in the people we love.
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  Speaker 2: It's a tough lesson, but a necessary one, and it
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  brings us back to Chikita story. What do you think
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  she would want us to learn from all of this?
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  What can we do to maybe prevent another tragedy like this?
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  Speaker 1: That's a really good question. I think Hikuidah, with her
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  passion for justice, I think she would want us to
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  be more than just aware. She'd want us to be active,
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  to speak up when we see injustice, to fight for
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  what's right. She want us to support victims, advocate for them,
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  and work towards a world where this kind of violence
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  just doesn't happen.
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  Speaker 2: Anymore, beautifully said, a world where everyone feels safe, empowered.
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  That's a goal worth fighting for.
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  Speaker 1: Couldn't agree more. Well, I think that about wraps up
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  our deep dive into Chikida Tate's case. We've covered a
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  lot of ground, from the chilling details of the crime
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  to the complexities of the justice system and all those
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  lingering questions.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's been a really heavy but.
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  Speaker 1: Important journey, it has, and as we sign off, I
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  want to remind everyone that true crime it's more than
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  just a story. It's about learning from the past, understanding
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  what's happening now, and working towards a better future where
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  tragedies like this become a distant memory.
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  Speaker 2: So true, honoring the victims, seeking justice, and never forgetting
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  the lessons we've learned along the way.
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  Speaker 1: Well said, Thank you all for joining us on this
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  deep dive. Until next time, stay safe, stay aware, and
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  keep fighting for what's right.