Latest / Murder Files Unsealed / What Really Happened to Tamla Horsford? Part Two

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What Really Happened to Tamla Horsford? Part Two · Murder Files Unsealed

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Upon concluding the investigation, the Department made the incident report
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  and death inquiry available to the public. However, these documents
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  failed to provide the clarity that Horsford's family and friends sought. Instead,
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  they only deepened the confusion surrounding the case. How could
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  a woman with such a high blood alcohol concentration appear
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  to maintain control, as indicated by interviews and footage from
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  that evening, yet fall over a nearly four foot railing
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  into the backyard. How was it possible that a house
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  filled with people, some of whom had been asleep for
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  less than thirty minutes, did not hear Horsford's fatal fall
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  just outside their windows. Could a fall from a height
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  of fifteen to twenty feet result not only in death,
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  but also in a dislocated wrist, a broken neck, and
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  a laceration to her heart muscle. Why was the scene
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  not preserved, evidence not tested, and potential witnesses not interviewed promptly?
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  What transpired when the back door opened shortly before two am?
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  And why was it left ajar until the following morning.
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  Would the investigation have unfolded differently had Horsford not been
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  the only black individual present at the gathering. Horsford was
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  born in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in nineteen seventy eight,
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  residing there until her family relocated to the Bronx in
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  nineteen eighty nine. She met her husband in Florida, who
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  had a daughter from a previous relationship, and together they
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  had five sons. At the time of her passing, her
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  youngest son was merely four years old. By all accounts,
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  Horsford was the embodiment of joy at social gatherings. She
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  enjoyed laughter, dancing, and having a good time. When the
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  Horsfords moved to Georgia five and a half years prior
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  for Leander's employment, it was this vibrant personality that drew
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  Meyers and others to the engaging mother. Situated approximately forty
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  miles northeast of Atlanta, Forsyth County is predominantly a white
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  suburban area within the Atlanta metropolitan region. The sole incorporated
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  city in the county is Coming, which draws families due
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  to its spacious lots, annual country fair, and charming downtown. However,
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  Forsyth County has a significant history of racial hostility, marked
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  by a tragic event known as racial cleansing in nineteen twelve.
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  This incident was triggered when a black man was accused
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  of raping a white woman alongside another man, who was
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  blamed for the rape and subsequent death of a different
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  white woman due to her injuries. In response, white mobs
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  targeted local black homes and businesses, resulting in the expulsion
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  of the county's one thousand, ninety eight black residents, who
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  constituted about ten percent of the population at that time.
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  For many years, the county remained entirely white, and as
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  recently as nineteen ninety there were only fourteen black residents
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  in the entire area. Coming exemplifies a classic small Southern
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  town where community ties are strong and residents look out
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  for one another. A notable example is Sheriff Ron Freeman
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  and current FCSO Deputy Coroner Chris Shelton. In twenty fourteen,
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  Shelton resigned from a nearby police department after sharing images
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  of himself with racist mammy dolls. Just two years later,
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  he was featured in and Facebook photos supporting Ron Freeman's
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  twoenty sixteen campaign for sheriff. Following Freeman's election victory, Shelton
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  was appointed as deputy Coroner for Forsyth County. Shelton is
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  also affiliated with Operation twenty one, a business founded by
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  law enforcement and military veteran Brian de Blois, which focuses
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  on educating offenders about the law to help decrease recidivism.
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  Campaign registration records indicate that Brian's wife, Anna, served as
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  the treasurer for Freeman's twoenty sixteen campaign. Social media activity
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  reveals that the de Blois family maintains friendships with individuals
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  who attended a particular gathering, including Stacy and Tom Smith.
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  Photographs depict the Smiths and de Bloises enjoying voting, dining out,
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  and celebrating birthdays together, which describes as their friend family.
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  Advocates for reopening the case have raised concerns regarding the
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  circumstances surrounding these events. In response to an inquiry made
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  to the Forsyth County Coroner's Office, Forsyth County Attorney Ken
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  Jarrard informed Rolling Stone that Shelton was not involved in
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  the Horsford case. Additionally, FCSO public Information Officer Stacy Miller
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  categorically denied that any personal relationships could have effected the
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  handling of the case. There is no connection between Ron
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  Freeman and the Dubloisses or any other individuals present at
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  the gathering on the night of Tamler Horsford's unfortunate death,
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  she stated to Rolling Stone, clarifying that Freeman and Anna
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  were only acquainted in a limited professional context. The FCSO
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  approaches every case with the same diligence and impartiality, regardless
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  of the identities of the victim, witnesses, or suspects. Miller
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  further emphasized that the Forsyth County Coroner's Office operates as
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  an independent entity separate from the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office. However,
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  the inquiries related to Horsford's case extend beyond the mere
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  appearance