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Hunting 4 Answers: One Timeline, Conflicting Accounts: D'Nazia "Nay" Uzzle · The Breakfast Club

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Hunting for Answers is a production of the Black Effect
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Podcast Network and iHeartRadio. This is Hunting for Answers and
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  Speaker 1: I'm your host Hunter. Every weekday we tell a story
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  Speaker 1: that should never be forgotten. So let's begin. Early one
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  Speaker 1: Saturday morning, police and paramedics responded to a home on
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  Speaker 1: Jefferson Avenue in New London, Connecticut. Inside, they found a
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  Speaker 1: seventeen year old girl unresponsive. What happened inside that home
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: before nine when one was called is still playing out
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: in court. This is the story of Danasia ney Uzul.
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  Speaker 1: Danesia was seventeen years old. She lived in Graton, Connecticut,
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  Speaker 1: and was a senior at New London High School. To
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  Speaker 1: her family and friends, she was nay. She was a daughter,
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  Speaker 1: a grand daughter, a niece, a cousin, and a friend.
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  Speaker 1: Her senior year was also coming to an end. On
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  Speaker 1: the night of April fourteenth, twenty twenty three, Danesha attended
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  Speaker 1: a party in New London. While she was there, she
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  Speaker 1: ran into her former boyfriend, Nashon Cherry. Later that night,
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  Speaker 1: the two took a ride share to the home where
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  Speaker 1: he lived with his mother, Erica Cherry, on Jefferson Avenue.
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  Speaker 1: The people inside that home would later give different accounts
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  Speaker 1: of what happened next. Inside the home, Danesha and Nashon
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  Speaker 1: went upstairs to a bedroom. Nashan later said Dansa looked
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  Speaker 1: through his phone and found a message he had sent
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  Speaker 1: to another girl. He said an argument followed. He told
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  Speaker 1: investigators Danesha bit his lip during the argument and that
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  Speaker 1: he held her down on the bed. The noise brought
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  Speaker 1: Erica Cherry to the bedroom. What happened next has been
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  Speaker 1: described in different ways. Naeon said his mother pulled Danasia
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  Speaker 1: off the floor by her hair and dragged her downstairs.
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  Speaker 1: Investigators said Erica Cherry told them she and her son
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  Speaker 1: brought Deanesia downstairs. She said Dansa picked up a knife
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  Speaker 1: and stabbed both her and Nashan. According to police, both
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  Speaker 1: Erica and Nishon were later taken to the hospital and
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  Speaker 1: treated for non life threatening stab wounds. Nashon's account continued differently.
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  Speaker 1: He told investigators he pushed his mother away as Dansa
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  Speaker 1: stood gasping for air. Naeon said he picked Adanesia up
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  Speaker 1: in a bear hug and moved her to a couch.
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  Speaker 1: He said she was breathing heavily and looked out of it.
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  Speaker 1: When he brought her water, he said she raised her
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  Speaker 1: head then flopped back down. When first responders arrived, they
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  Speaker 1: found Dansia unresponsive. She was then taken to the hospital.
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  Speaker 1: Danesia was later pronounced deceased. The medical examiner later ruled
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  Speaker 1: her death a homicide, finding she died from net compression,
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  Speaker 1: with blunt force injuries also contributing. As the investigation continued,
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  Speaker 1: court records showed testing found DNA from Donesia Air Cherry
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  Speaker 1: and Nishan Cherry on the knife recovered from the home.
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  Speaker 1: In September twenty twenty three, authorities announced the arrests of
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  Speaker 1: Erica Cherry and Nishan Cherry. Both were charged in connection
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  Speaker 1: with Danesia's death. From that point on, the two cases
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  Speaker 1: took different paths. Nearly three years later, Erica Cherry reached
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  Speaker 1: a plea deal leading guilty to accessory to manslaughter and
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  Speaker 1: intentional cruelty to persons. She was later sentenced to five
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  Speaker 1: years in prison. Friends and family from both sides filled
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  Speaker 1: the courtroom during the sentencing. After the sentencing, Danija's mother,
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  Speaker 1: Kimberly Uzzle, said she believed the punishment did not go
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  Speaker 1: far enough. She said manslaughter is not enough for my baby.
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  Speaker 1: These people killed my daughter. It wasn't an accident. Nashan
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  Speaker 1: Cherry has pleaded not guilty. As of this recording, the
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  Speaker 1: case remains pending. Court records showed that Cherry remains free
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  Speaker 1: on a two hundred and fifty thousand dollars bond in
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  Speaker 1: the manslaughter case. He is presumed innocent unless proven guilty
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  Speaker 1: in court. More than three years later, the loss of
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  Speaker 1: Danasia continues to be felt by her family and everyone
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  Speaker 1: who loved her. Let's keep sharing Danasia's story. For more
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: episodes and case updates, follow Hunting for Answers. You can
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: also find us on Instagram, TikTok, and you tube, or
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: join our Facebook community. If there's a story you believe
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: deserves attention, please reach out. We'd love to hear from you.
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: Thank you for joining us for another episode. Until next time.
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  Speaker 1: Hunting for Answers is a production of the Black Effect
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: Podcast Network. For more podcasts from the Black Effect Podcast Network,
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.