TX DEUNDREA FORD: Missing from Houston, TX - 21 Sept 2023 - Age 21 *Found Deceased**ARREST*

Missing Houston woman was witness in murder case; no-contact order was issued in June, records show

Deundrea Lakelsia Ford, a 21-year-old mother, disappeared last month. Newly obtained court documents show she is a witness in a capital murder case.

www.usatoday.com

Missing Houston woman was witness in murder case; no-contact order was issued in June, records show​

A Houston woman reported missing by police last month is a witness in a capital murder case, according to new information obtained in the case.

Deundrea Lakelsia Ford, a 21-year-old mother, disappeared during the early morning hours of Sept. 21, the Houston Police Department reported last week. The department's Missing Persons Unit said Ford was last seen near the 11900 block of the East Freeway.

Her family, who believes she was abducted, told local media outlets KHOU 11 and Fox 26 Ford was last was spotted getting into a white van with an unidentified man outside Diva's Bikini Sports Bar, where she had worked for "only a few weeks."

Court papers obtained by USA TODAY show Ford listed as a victim and a witness in a capital murder case stemming from a killing this spring.

Threats against Ford's life are documented in a probable cause affidavit filed in June against 22-year-old Jarrell Travon Wheeler, one of four suspects charged in the May 18 fatal shooting of Otis Parker, 35.

The affidavit identifies the other defendants as 21-year-old Jamal Brown, listed as the shooter, and accomplices 23-year-old Mariah Green and 21-year-old Quitiana Taylor.

According to the 7-page affidavit, the defendants planned to rob and kill Parker and Ford over $1,500 cash.

In a text exchange between Brown and Taylor, the affidavit shows, Brown allegedly wrote, "She got to go too."

Taylor, court papers show, responded, "I'm already knowing."


It was unclear whether the shooting was connected to Ford's disappearance.


Wheeler and Green's respective court-appointed attorneys could not immediately be reached for comment Monday by USA TODAY.

Taylor's court-appointed attorneys, Angela Weltin and James Stafford, would not specifically comment on the case, but did provide the following statement:

“Women barely more than children, such as our client, who are being sex trafficked in Houston and New Orleans are often treated less than human. They are stripped of their possessions, their freedom, and the rights to their own bodies. Our hearts go out to all the human trafficking victims who have been used, abused and discarded.”


MEDIA - DEUNDREA FORD: Missing from Houston, TX - 21 Sept 2023 - Age 21

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Missing woman Deundrea Ford linked to capital murder case

Deundrea Lakelsia Ford who went missing in September, is a witness in a capital murder case from a shooting in May 2023, according to a USA Today report.

www.mysanantonio.com

Report: Missing Texas woman is witness in capital murder case​

Deundrea Lakelsia Ford, who was reported missing in late September, is a witness in a capital murder case, according to a report from USA Today on Monday, October 2.

USA Today obtained a probable cause affidavit filed in June 2023 connected to a capital murder case against 22-year-old Jarrell Travon Wheeler, who is one of four persons charged in the shooting death of Otis Parker. The others involved include 21-year-old Jamal Brown, listed as the alleged shooter, and alleged accomplices 23-year-old Mariah Green and 21-year-old Quitiana Taylor, USA Today reported.

Ford is listed as a witness and victim in the shooting, according to the affidavit. The four charged in the case allegedly planned to rob and kill Ford and Parker over $1,500. The shooting took place at about 4:30 a.m. on May 18, after Ford, Parker, and Taylor, had reportedly returned from Baton Rouge, Louisiana on a work trip. Parker was shot in the driver’s seat, while Ford was unharmed by any gun fire in the back of the passenger seat, according to the affidavit.

On June 30, according to court documents, a judged issued a no-contact order between Ford and the four involved connected in the shooting. Brown, however, was killed in a shooting with Harris County Sherriff’s Office deputies who attempted to serve him with an arrest warrant, USA Today reported. The other three persons remain in custody, and it is still unknown if her disappearance is related to the shooting.

The investigation into Ford’s disappearance is “open and active pending further investigation,” a Houston PD spokesperson told USA Today. Officials are still asking those with information related to Ford’s disappearance to share it with the Houston Police Department missing persons desk at 832-394-1840 and/or HPD patrol at 713-884-3131.


The family of missing Texas woman Deundrea Ford believes she was abducted after being seen leaving her work with a mysterious man. The 21-year-old mother was last seen on September 21, outside her Houston place of work, Diva's Bikini Sports Bar, according to the Houston Police Department.

Bridgette Carriere, Ford's grandmother, reviewed the bar's security footage and saw her granddaughter talking with a man and a woman at the bar before leaving with the man in a white van. Carriere told KHOU 11 on Thursday, September 26, that Deundrea had worked for "only a few weeks" and believed she may have been abducted.

"Let her come home to her family and her 4-year-old son," Carriere, told the outlet. "Just don't continue to try to hold her, or if you're making her do anything out the way ... just let her go."

From the security footage, Deundra and the unknown man stayed in the van for more than an hour, KHOU 11 reported that one of Deundra's friends received a missed call from her around 2 a.m. on September 22. Later that day, the family said her phone had been turned off and their calls went straight to voicemail. Her phone has not been powered back on.

"I'm confident that something's not right. This is not her normal behavior," her uncle, Kevin Carriere, told the news outlet.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Witness in a capital murder case still missing since leaving Houston bikini bar

Deundrea Ford's family first came to KHOU 11 about her disappearance after she was last seen leaving Diva's Bikini Sports Bar and Grill.

www.khou.com

Still missing: It's been 2 weeks since a woman disappeared after leaving a bikini bar in E. Houston.​

It's been two weeks since Deundrea Ford disappeared.

She was last seen leaving work on Sept. 21 in east Houston off I-10 near Federal Road.

We've recently learned that Ford was a witness in a capital murder case, something her family said they had no idea about. Court documents revealed Ford was present when a man was shot and killed in May while she rode in a car with that victim.

Ford's family first came to KHOU 11 about her disappearance after she was last seen leaving Diva's Bikini Sports Bar and Grill. Family members said she had only worked there for a few weeks.

At the time, Ford's family feared she had been kidnapped, but now they have no idea what may have actually happened to her.

They said they knew something was wrong when she went days without contacting her 4-year-old son.

"I'm confident that something's not right. This is not her normal behavior," her uncle, Kevin Carriere, said.

 

[Guess Who]

Witness in a capital murder case still missing since leaving Houston bikini bar

Deundrea Ford's family first came to KHOU 11 about her disappearance after she was last seen leaving Diva's Bikini Sports Bar and Grill.

www.khou.com

Still missing: It's been 2 weeks since a woman disappeared after leaving a bikini bar in E. Houston.​

It's been two weeks since Deundrea Ford disappeared.

She was last seen leaving work on Sept. 21 in east Houston off I-10 near Federal Road.

We've recently learned that Ford was a witness in a capital murder case, something her family said they had no idea about. Court documents revealed Ford was present when a man was shot and killed in May while she rode in a car with that victim.

Ford's family first came to KHOU 11 about her disappearance after she was last seen leaving Diva's Bikini Sports Bar and Grill. Family members said she had only worked there for a few weeks.

At the time, Ford's family feared she had been kidnapped, but now they have no idea what may have actually happened to her.

They said they knew something was wrong when she went days without contacting her 4-year-old son.

"I'm confident that something's not right. This is not her normal behavior," her uncle, Kevin Carriere, said.

The family had no idea she was in a car with a person that was shot and killed and/or they didn't know that would, without a doubt, make her a witness in that case?

 

[GrandmaBear]

This entire thing sounds a bit odd. Gotta love the white van, how cliche. Sarcasm. Sure it is likely true though. Clearly there are good leads if the man, woman and van were seen and family knows she was in it for an hour, etc. by camera or whatever.

Not sure why anyone was setting out to kill for $1,500 and she was left alive and a witness.

Coming back from a work trip.

I'm sorry but what do we have here? Prostitution? Drugs? What kind of work involving travel? But now she works at a sports bar?

I am not dissing the victim, I am trying to get a picture of what the heck this is, what the problem is/was between these people, etc. It is a bit difficult to believe it was only over $1,500 and not some feud over the money or some other reason relating or on top of it. Don't get me wrong, I know people have been killed for less...

I admit I haven't read the links. So young. I pray she is all right. I don't have a read on if this relates to her being a witness or if she bolted or took off of her own free will maybe due to it all even. It sounds as if she got into the van willingly. It both says she left in the van with the man as if they departed but then says she was in the van for more than an hour with him per security footage? And what did it show after that time, her departing? The van leaving?

Yeah, odd her family didn't know she witnessed a murder, etc.

I have only read the posts here, is it possible she is under protection? It sounds like her family putting out that she is missing, not LE, and the posts seem to be from news talking to family and getting court documents, again not from LE...

 

[GrandmaBear]

Okay. I read the one article and it about fits what I'd think. 35 year old man with is it two young women who went on a trip to work as dancers for a week....

Am I tracking right and Taylor was both in the car and on the trip yet is charged?

Then we have the sex trafficking remark by Taylor's attorney. Yet Taylor is the one that said "she got to go too" or some such.

It is exactly what I was guessing. And either this was some type of pimp war or something on the order of who gets the money the girls make or maybe someone was trying to get the girls out of the dead man's clutches or something on that order...I'd like to think to FREE the girls from trafficking but more likely to be in control of them, like a turf war almost.

Am I all wet or reading this right?

She then ends up working at a bikini sports bar and I'd have to guess "dancing" again and off in a white van. If I ever had time to even keep up on my more known cases or life, I'd look the bar up.

None of this of course answers where she is or what happened but it gives some solid hints at the possibilities. The Taylor one you would think would be a witness and victim too and yet she is under arrest...

Pretty confusing when almost all on either side of the case were likely breaking the law...

 

[Kimster]

What a beautiful woman. I’m so sad she got wrapped up in this kind of lifestyle. I do hope she’s going to be found safe!

 

[Summer_Breeze]

‘Fumbling the ball’: Houston family frustrated with alleged lack of help, response from police in missing mother’s case

The family of a missing mother is voicing their frustration about the ongoing investigation to find her.

www.click2houston.com

Re'Chelle Turner, Reporter, Houston
Published: October 19, 2023 at 7:06 PM
Updated: October 20, 2023 at 1:29 AM

HOUSTON – The family of a missing mother is voicing their frustration about the ongoing investigation to find her.

“There’s no reason why we should be at almost three weeks now without an update from HPD. Just to be clear about a couple of things, the Houston Police Department, they are fumbling the ball on this, and it needs to be known,” Kevin Carrier said.

Saturday, Oct. 21, will mark three months since 21-year-old Deundrea Ford was reported missing.

She was last seen leaving the Diva’s Bikini Bar and Grill, where she had been working for about two weeks with a person in a white van.

Deundrea’s uncle, Kevin Carrier, is concerned, angry, and aggravated about how the case is being handled by Houston police. He believes some of the headlines about her disappearance and her being a woman of color are keeping his family from getting the attention they need.

“We all feel like, law enforcement has either gotten complacent with this situation with her recovery and return or she’s not a priority,” Carrier said.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
More at link. ~Summer

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

 

[Summer_Breeze]

Black and Missing: What happened to Deundrea Ford? What’s stopping her case from getting attention?

Every day we hear from families whose loved ones are missing. We spend part of our mornings at KPRC talking about what is being done to find the person and the latest in the search and recovery efforts.

www.click2houston.com

Re'Chelle Turner, Reporter, Houston
Moriah Ballard, Digital Content Producer
Published: November 3, 2023 at 9:45 PM
Updated: November 3, 2023 at 10:18 PM

HOUSTON – Every day we hear from families whose loved ones are missing. We spend part of our mornings at KPRC talking about what is being done to find the person and the latest in the search and recovery efforts.

In the past few weeks, the case of Deundrea Ford has been discussed a lot in our newsroom.

We have spoken about things that happened in her past, details about her disappearance, and what the police are doing to find her.

KPRC 2′s Re’Chelle Turner found out Ford’s family is not alone and that thousands of Black women are still missing.

“At the end of the day, we want Deundrea back. We want answers,” Kevin Carrier said.

Carrier said it is now his mission to keep telling the world about his niece Deundrea Ford.

Sept. 21, 2023, is the last time anyone saw Deundrea. There is surveillance video of her leaving the Diva’s Bikini Bar and Grill where she had worked for two weeks and getting into a white van with a man.

“I do not want people to get it construed or twist anything. That all spiraled from text messages that she sent out saying that she was ready to be picked up and ready to go home. And for whatever reason, she elected to find another way home,” Carrier said.

Carrier added that police in another state detained a suspect but later released him.

A quick Google search of Deandrea Ford’s name shows headlines, highlighting a different crime from her past.

We spoke to Andy Kahan, Director of Crime Stoppers about the case.

“First, you have a witness in a capital murder case that has gone missing, and to me that always sends red flags up. The way she did go up missing, again red flags go up. So, it is disturbing to me that nothing has been either reported on her whereabouts or what happened. Right now, from looking at it objectively and from the reports that I have seen, I would easily make the speculation that she went missing as a result of criminal conduct,” Kahan said.

Ford’s uncle believes that “criminal conduct “is not connected to her disappearance and is just a distraction.

“It was a drastic narrative spin,” he said. “Everyone out there has a loved one that could fall into this category. You would hope that the attention would be on finding that person and returning them home safely.”

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

More at link. ~Summer

 

[Summer_Breeze]

Man charged in connection to disappearance, presumed death of missing Houston mother Deundrea Ford

Houston Police announced an arrest in connection with the disappearance and presumed death of a missing mother.

www.click2houston.com

Christian Terry, Digital Content Producer
Published: January 14, 2024 at 2:22 PM
Updated: January 14, 2024 at 2:55 PM

HOUSTON – Houston Police announced an arrest in connection with the disappearance and presumed death of a missing mother.

Yoland J. Washington, 51, is charged with murder. Washington is currently in custody in the Dallas County Jail.

The missing woman, Deundrea Ford, 22, disappeared on Sept. 22, 2023, after leaving her job at Divas Bikini Bar N Grill in east Houston. Police said she was seen leaving with an unknown man in a white Ford Transit van.

Friends and family members were unable to make contact with Ford and, on September 23, she was reported missing. The HPD Missing Persons Unit and the HPD Homicide Division initiated an investigation into the incident.

“Further investigation and evidence identified Washington as the suspect in this case and he was linked to Ford’s death. Washington was arrested in Dallas, Texas on an unrelated charge and he remains in the Dallas County Jail awaiting extradition to Harris County,” police said.

Houston Police said Ford’s body has not been located at this time.

Court documents said police were able to identify Washington as a suspect in the case from credit card information used at the bar and grill from the night Ford disappeared. They were also able to view surveillance video which showed Ford and Washington getting into the van.

Washington was later located in Virginia after deputies in Amhearst County received an alert that the white Ford Transit van was connected to Ford’s disappearance. During an interview, Washington admitted, according to court documents, that he had met Ford inside the club and the two spent time together in his van before he dropped her off.

The documents said authorities obtained a search warrant for the van and found the clothing that Washington was seen wearing on the surveillance video the night Ford disappeared. The clothing appeared to have blood stains on it. Using a special chemical, authorities also found blood stains that illuminated in the middle and rear of the van as well as a rear door, the driver’s side wall, and on a ratchet strap to tie down cargo.

Court documents also said DNA evidence from the blood stains showed a mixture of Ford’s DNA and Washington’s DNA on three of the stains found on Washington’s shirt.

The court documents also say Washington has a history of violence against women. The documents said after Ford’s disappearance, DNA evidence linked Washington to the sexual assault and strangulation of a woman in Dallas, which happened on July 23, 2023. The victim in that case survived and reported that Washington had done these things prior to robbing her. Dallas Police charged Washington with sexual assault and he was arrested at his home in New Jersey and extradited back to Texas.

The court documents also say authorities received multiple reports of similar crimes committed in New Jersey by police agencies in that region.

During an interview, the documents said Washington told police where he had been the night of Ford’s disappearance and where he had driven. However, cell phone data showing where Washington had been that night was in blatant conflict with what Washington had told police.

Anyone with information in this case is urged to contact the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or speak anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.

 

[GrandmaBear]

Man charged in connection to disappearance, presumed death of missing Houston mother Deundrea Ford

Houston Police announced an arrest in connection with the disappearance and presumed death of a missing mother.

www.click2houston.com

Christian Terry, Digital Content Producer
Published: January 14, 2024 at 2:22 PM
Updated: January 14, 2024 at 2:55 PM

HOUSTON – Houston Police announced an arrest in connection with the disappearance and presumed death of a missing mother.

Yoland J. Washington, 51, is charged with murder. Washington is currently in custody in the Dallas County Jail.

The missing woman, Deundrea Ford, 22, disappeared on Sept. 22, 2023, after leaving her job at Divas Bikini Bar N Grill in east Houston. Police said she was seen leaving with an unknown man in a white Ford Transit van.

Friends and family members were unable to make contact with Ford and, on September 23, she was reported missing. The HPD Missing Persons Unit and the HPD Homicide Division initiated an investigation into the incident.

“Further investigation and evidence identified Washington as the suspect in this case and he was linked to Ford’s death. Washington was arrested in Dallas, Texas on an unrelated charge and he remains in the Dallas County Jail awaiting extradition to Harris County,” police said.

Houston Police said Ford’s body has not been located at this time.

Court documents said police were able to identify Washington as a suspect in the case from credit card information used at the bar and grill from the night Ford disappeared. They were also able to view surveillance video which showed Ford and Washington getting into the van.

Washington was later located in Virginia after deputies in Amhearst County received an alert that the white Ford Transit van was connected to Ford’s disappearance. During an interview, Washington admitted, according to court documents, that he had met Ford inside the club and the two spent time together in his van before he dropped her off.

The documents said authorities obtained a search warrant for the van and found the clothing that Washington was seen wearing on the surveillance video the night Ford disappeared. The clothing appeared to have blood stains on it. Using a special chemical, authorities also found blood stains that illuminated in the middle and rear of the van as well as a rear door, the driver’s side wall, and on a ratchet strap to tie down cargo.

Court documents also said DNA evidence from the blood stains showed a mixture of Ford’s DNA and Washington’s DNA on three of the stains found on Washington’s shirt.

The court documents also say Washington has a history of violence against women. The documents said after Ford’s disappearance, DNA evidence linked Washington to the sexual assault and strangulation of a woman in Dallas, which happened on July 23, 2023. The victim in that case survived and reported that Washington had done these things prior to robbing her. Dallas Police charged Washington with sexual assault and he was arrested at his home in New Jersey and extradited back to Texas.

The court documents also say authorities received multiple reports of similar crimes committed in New Jersey by police agencies in that region.

During an interview, the documents said Washington told police where he had been the night of Ford’s disappearance and where he had driven. However, cell phone data showing where Washington had been that night was in blatant conflict with what Washington had told police.

Anyone with information in this case is urged to contact the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or speak anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.

Well I'm glad an arrest was made in the murder of this young woman.

He sounds like a particularly stupid one but it also sounds as if we have a serial rapist if not even serial killer. Multiple reports of similar crimes committed in New Jersey..... Another rape, strangulation known to e him...

I don't get entirely how a number of crimes in New Jersey ties into him or Dallas and Virginia... Did his DNA tie? It doesn't say that... Just talks of similar crimes in New Jersey.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Missing for one year today.


NamUs lists her date of disappearance as 9/22.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

https://www.fox26houston.com/news/houston-crime-deundrea-fords-disappearance-ends-body-discovery-murder-charge

Houston crime: Deundrea Ford’s disappearance ends with body discovery in Dallas and murder charge​

The body of 22-year-old Deundrea Ford has been found. The Dallas County Medical Examiner records confirm her remains were discovered in a culvert on Luna Road in Dallas on September 25.

In connection with Ford's death, Yoland J. Washington, 51, has been charged with murder. He is currently in custody at the Dallas County Jail and will be extradited to Harris County. Washington was initially arrested on unrelated charges before evidence linked him to Ford’s disappearance.