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Georgette Diggs Was Murdered in Her Apartment While Her 3 Children Slept
By Gary C. King in cold cases, homicide, unsolved
Thursday, Oct. 29 2009 @ 10:49AM
Georgette Diggs.jpg
Police are looking for help in solving the brutal murder of Georgette Diggs

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Georgette Latrice Diggs, 23, was brutally murdered in her Muskegon Heights, Michigan apartment on October 24, 2002, while her three small children slept in another room. Police and relatives believe she was killed by someone she knew.

Diggs' daughter, Chardanaye, who was 6-years-old at the time, had been sleeping in an upstairs bedroom. She got up around 8:45 a.m. for school and discovered her mom's body in the living room...

Chardanaye's two sisters, who are twins, were only 1-year-old at the time of the murder.  Chardanaye ran across the street to the home of her grandmother, Edith Oakes, to tell her that she had discovered her mother with a knife in her neck. Oakes promptly called the police.

When the police arrived at her East Park Manor apartment they found Diggs dressed in a nighshirt, and noted that she had been stabbed in the neck. It was later determined that she had also been suffocated. Because there was no indication of forced entry to the apartment, investigators believe that Diggs had known her killer, but have not released any information on their theories about possible motives.

Now, 7 years later, Diggs' family is frustrated that the case has not officially been solved and that the killer is still walking around free despite the fact that investigators have narrowed down their viable suspects list to one person.

"At this point it is not a 'whodunit,'" Muskegon Heights Police Detective Calvin Mahan said recently.  "Our investigation has led us to be very interested in a specific individual who was connected with this case. We've identified a viable suspect. We're focusing on building a case that would lead to him being charged... We have been all over the Lower and Upper Peninsulas investigating this complaint, following up on leads. We've spent nights away from our families to work on this case. It's not just been an 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. investigation for us."

Nonetheless, Oakes said the fact that no one has been arrested for Diggs' murder is heartbreaking to the family, which holds a vigil each year on the anniversary of Diggs' death as they hope and pray for closure.

"It (the vigil) is just to let people know that somebody knows something about it and they need to go to the cops and let them know what is going on," Oakes said.

Oakes, who has custody of Diggs' three daughters, says that she keeps telling the girls to keep praying that the killer will be brought to justice. Oakes, like others, believe that the police know the killer's identity but have been unable to make an arrest because they haven't been able to build a strong enough case yet.

"Somebody went in her house who had a key because there was no forced entry or nothing like that," Oakes said.  "So whoever went in there, she knew."

Police are asking that anyone with any information about the death of Georgette Diggs to call the Silent Observer tip line at (231) 72-CRIME, or to simply call the Muskegon Heights Police Department at (231) 733-8900.


Tags: Michigan