Miami-Dade state lawyers will no longer prosecute three family members who were previously charged in connection with the death of an 11-year-old girl who died in the hospital after being shot inside her apartment. According to police, Taliyah Clarke was shot inside an apartment at a building near Northwest 2nd Avenue and Northwest 17th Street in Overtown on July 9.
Three people were arrested: the girl’s father, Titato Hatzate Clarke, 40; her grandmother, Charlene Ann Webster, 59; and Titato Clarke’s companion, Nancy Severe, 43. However, documents reveal that state prosecutors abandoned all of their manslaughter allegations due to “insufficient evidence. According to arrest records, Titato Clarke and Webster claim Taliyah Clarke was in her room with her 9-year-old brother when they heard a loud “pop” from the room.
They went in and discovered the girl with a gunshot wound to her chest. She was transported to a nearby hospital in severe condition and later died. Since the beginning, authorities have received conflicting versions from the family about what happened inside the home and how the youngster was shot. According to a 9-year-old youngster, the incident occurred in the car with his father and the victim when he heard gunshots and observed that his sister had been shot in the upper left shoulder.
However, papers show that officers discovered blood on the floor of the children’s room, a spent case, and a Glock.40 handgun on top of a dog cage draped in a pink scarf and brown blanket. That evidence was insufficient to hold anyone liable. Prosecutors argue they will be unable to prove the manslaughter allegations because witnesses will not cooperate. According to information obtained by NBC6, neither the youngsters nor the adults present were telling the truth. Prosecutors were unable to determine who possessed the handgun.
