Saturday, June 22, 2013

8 Year Old Found Dead; Sex Offender Arrested


Charish Perriwinkle, 8, found dead Saturday, Jacksonville sex offender arrested

Charish Perriwinkle loved the water, watching Disney movies and going to school


Charish Perriwinkle, 8, was abducted at a Walmart Friday night and later killed. Police have arrested Donald J. Smith, 56, in her slaying. Smith is a registered sex offender who was just released from jail on May 31. Here are updates from throughout the day.
5:30 p.m.: Family friends began gathering early Saturday to be with Charish Perriwinkle's mother, Reyne Perriwinkle, at her one-story Northside home on Alan Avenue in a working class neighborhood just west of Interstate 95 and Lem Turner Road.
Richard Harvey and Perriwinkle embraced in a tear-filled hug about noon on the porch. They’ve been friends for about three years and he described her as a protective mother.
“I was telling her it’s going to be alright, that God never makes a mistake,” said Harvey, 51. “She was drying her tears and drying my tears. We finally let go.”
Harvey said Perriwinkle drifted in and out of apparent shock during the afternoon.
“She talked for a little while and said things like, ‘I know she’s dead, but I still feel like she’s going to be walking through the door any minute now,’” Harvey said. “And she wasn’t.”
Patrick Williams, 41, said he met up with Perriwinkle’s boyfriend, Aaron Pearson, about 1 a.m. and took him up to the Walmart to check on the police investigation. Williams left Pearson, who is not the girl’s father, at the scene a short time later.
“Me and my wife prayed,” Williams, 41, said of his return home. “After I got done praying, I didn’t have a good feeling.”
Among those who consoled Charish’s mother were Ann Dugger, executive director of the Justice Coalition victim rights group, and Kathy Pannell, the Sheriff’s Office victim’s advocate.
Dugger trembled as she described caring for the mother she described as broken.
“When you’ve got an innocent, helpless child and their life has been taken out from under them, murdered … it’s so evil,” Dugger said. “It’s the hardest thing you’ve ever been through in your life.”
Dugger said Perriwinkle asked for her privacy, but would possibly make a statement at another time.
Harvey and Williams described Charish as a happy-go-luck girl with a bright smile and kind heart.
“She had the most beautiful eyes,” Harvey said.
“She was always a little lady,” Williams said.
5:10 p.m.: Donald J. Smith lives in a comfortable Southside house on Segovia Avenue his mother has owned for decades, in a neighborhood where people knew of his arrest history.
Neighbor Kevin Shivar, who has a 16-year-old daughter said: “We don’t need people like that in this neighborhood.”
Smith had been a painting contractor and handyman, neighbors said. They said Smith at one point spent hours regularly maintaining the yard.
“Had you not known anything, you would have thought he was neighbor of the year,” said a neighbor who would not give his name but said he had decided to be a “buddy” to Smith after earlier concerns about whether he was involved in area burglaries. “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer,” the neighbor said.
He said Smith had feared he faced a long prison sentence after facing charges in 2009 that involved attempted child abuse and attempting to impersonate a government employee.
The neighbor said he was shocked when the felony case ended in 2012 with plea-bargained guilty pleas to charges that carried only a year behind bars.
The neighbor said Smith had been nearly invisible since returning home a few weeks ago.
Smith has been divorced for some years and has a son in his early or mid-20s, who had been spent some time around the house with Smith’s mother, who is in her 80s, the neighbor said.
No one answered the door when a reporter went to the house Saturday.
4:15: Charish Perriwinkle loved the color pink, watching Disney movies, being in water and going to school.
That description of the 8-year-old girl, who was abducted Friday from a Walmart and later killed, appears in court documents about a custody dispute between Charish's parents, who were not married.
The dispute ended in 2010 when Duval County Judge Linda McCallum granted shared responsibility between Reyne Perriwinkle and Billy Jarreau, but with the mother keeping primary custody.
Charish is further described as enjoying cartoons, having tea parties and playing with dolls, games and Play-Doh. She attended Chaffee Trail Elementary School.
Her mother read to her nightly and often bought things for Charish and two stepsisters rather than herself, the mother's boyfriend said.
Charish moved with her mother and her mother's boyfriend from small home to small home and spent at least some time as an infant living with her mother in a homeless shelter, the records show.
Charish had several stepsiblings, including two stepsisters from the mother and boyfriend.
The mother could not be reached to comment. The father declined to comment when reached at a neighbor's home in Campo, Calif., near San Diego.
3 p.m.: The man charged in the killing of 8-year-old Charish Perriwinkle had just been released from jail May 31.
Police said they made contact Friday morning with Donald James Smith, 56, who is a registered sex offender, at the home on Segovia Avenue, where he is registered. It was a routine address verification, according to Detective Mike Williams.
Smith lived within walking distance from Dupont Middle School. Police said there was no restriction on him living that close to a school because he was a registered sexual offender, not sexual predator.
Charish was reported as being abducted Friday night from the Walmart on Lem Turner Road. Her body was found Saturday morning in a wooded area off Broward Road.
Williams said Charish's mother met Smith at a Dollar General on Edgewood Avenue West about 7 p.m. Friday. Two younger children, 4 and 5 years old, were also there and remain in the mother's custody.
Smith offered to buy food and clothes for Perriwinkle's family at the nearby Walmart, Williams said. The family was in the Walmart for a couple of hours, he said.
The mother agreed to let Charish go with Smith to the McDonald's inside the Walmart. The two did not return and the mother called police. 
Williams said Smith was "compliant" when pulled over on Interstate 95, but has refused to answer questions.
Within a short period of the stop, police received a call about a suspicious van in the 2100 block of Broward Road. Police began searching a wooded area there with K-9 units and found the victim's body.
Williams praised the citizen who called in the tip for "stepping up."
"That suspicious vehicle call really shortened this investigation for us," Williams said. "It got us where we needed to be a lot quicker than maybe we could have on our own."
He said Perriwinkle's mother is doing "as good as can be expected."
Police said they don't know of any accomplices, but they are looking for another vehicle. 
2:45 p.m.: Police have scheduled a 3 p.m. press conference about the death of 8-year-old Charish Perriwinkle. 
No one answered the door at a home where Perriwinkle was listed as living in 2010. The home may have been vacant. And neighbors said they didn't know the family. 
12:04 p.m.: Police are focusing a lot of attention at a creek near Highlands Baptist Church. Officers were putting down what appeared to be a sheet of plastic near the creek.
Linda Karshirsky, who lives near the church, said that at about 8:45 a.m. or 9 a.m., her husband saw a light blue truck parked on a bridge over the creek. No one was in the truck and he reported what he saw to police, his wife said. It's not clear if the truck is related to the police investigation.
A fire department ladder truck is parked in the street at the bridge, over the creek.
11:18 a.m.: Linda Kashirsky and her husband returned Saturday morning to their house near Highlands Baptist Church on Broward Road to see investigators searching for evidence.
“I’m just devastated for the parents of that child," Kashirsky said. "It’s so, so sad. I got goosebumps when I heard. I just want to cry.” 
The couple had just moved a half a block from the church two weeks ago, so they said they're not very familiar with the neighborhood. 
Deborah Howell, a longtime resident of the area, also lives near the church.
“We’re a very, very close-knit neighborhood," Howell said. "As soon as I saw the police, we all started calling each other. I cannot believe this has happened.”
Another neighbor, Charlotte Dupree, said she was shocked and upset to hear what might have happened in her community.
"We were all in our houses watching the Amber Alert, and the child was down there dead,” Dupree said.
Neighbors describe the area near the church as including a two-story vacant house and a creek where people go crabbing. It's not clear yet exactly where police are focusing their attention since the area is blocked off.
10:56 a.m.: Police were on Broward Road near Highlands Baptist Church Saturday morning. Two women who said they are friends of the victim's family are weeping at the scene now. They declined to comment to the media or provide their names. A news conference is scheduled for 3 p.m.
10:46 a.m.: The abduction and killing are reminiscent of the 2009 abduction and slaying of 7-year-old Somer Thompson while walking home from school in her Orange Park neighborhood. Police found Somer’s body in a Georgia landfill and later arrested Jarred Harrell, who pleaded guilty in the case in 2012 and was sentenced to life in prison.
Diena Thompson, Somer’s mother, became a national champion for children’s and victim’s rights after her daughter’s death. Thompson said she first learned about Saturday’s tragedy about 6 a.m. after turning on the news.
“I’m sickened,” Thompson told The Times-Union in a telephone interview. “Her [the mother’s] nightmare has just begun.”
10:23 a.m.: The body of an 8-year-old girl who went missing Friday night has been found at a church off Broward Road.
Charish Lilly Perriwinkle's body was found a little before 10 a.m. Saturday. Police wouldn't idenify the name of the church.
The sexual offender suspected of abducting her was taken into custody by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office a little after 9 a.m.
Perriwinkle was reported missing about 11 p.m. Friday by her mother at the Walmart Supercenter at 12100 Lem Turner Road.
Police spokesman Shannon Hartley said during a 9:30 a.m. news conference that Donald James Smith, 56, was in custody after officers surrounded a white van on southbound Interstate 95 near the Interstate 10 split. Hartley didn't know if Smith was armed when taken into custody. He has several previous arrests involving lewd behavior with children.
The Sheriff's Office released two grainy photos of a second vehicle being sought. Hartley said police want to find the vehicle and the person driving it. The quality of the photos (one of which is attached to the story) are so poor police haven't been able to give details such as the make and model.
"Obviously having Mr. Smith in custody is a huge break for us," Hartley said.
Sgt. Lonnie Mills of the Sheriff’s Office said earlier that Charish was taken by a man who had befriended the girl's mother at the store and said he was taking the girl to the store’s McDonald’s located at the front for a snack.
Police searched the area with helicopters and ground units but found no immediate trace of the man or the girl.
Smith was reportedly driving a 1998 white Dodge van, Florida plates BCBK32, Mills said. The vehicle has a 2-inch dark pinstripe down its sides, two large windows on the driver’s side, one large window and double doors on the passenger side and double doors on the back.
Smith, whose registered address is 2495 Segovia Ave., was last arrested in 2009 where he was accused of impersonating a Department of Children and Services officer and making obscene and threatening calls to a 9-year-old girl.
The arrest report said he had called a 12-year-old boy on his cellphone asking to speak to his sister, whom he knew by name. The boy gave him his mother's cellphone. The man called her saying he was with DCF conducting an investigation regarding her daughter.
The girl was visiting grandparents, so he called them and spoke with the daughter for about 20 minutes. He had asked questions about whether she wore a bra and what her privates looked like. Then he told the grandmother the child's father and grandfather were suspected of molesting her and that if she told anyone of their conversation she could go to jail. 
He demanded she bring the girl to a McDonald's so he could examine her. She did so, but went inside instead of waiting in the parking lot as instructed. The man did not appear. The mother later gave police the man's phone number and traced it to Smith.
Smith also served prison time for attempted kidnapping and lewd and lascivious assault on children. The first time he attempted to lure a 13-year-old girl into his van and chased her as she ran away. The second time involved Smith trying to lure two girls into his van with pornographic magazines, according to Times-Union archives.
Anyone who has any information is asked to contact police at (904) 630-0500 or call 911.
Times-Union writer Scott Butler contributed to this report.

36 comments:

Anonymous said...


http://www.actionnewsjax.com/media/lib/1/6/3/3/633dd191-3a81-48f4-8364-0b2af98afcb0/JSOPoliceReport_SmithCriminalPast.pdf

Unknown said...

Poor, poor mother. Every parent's nightmare is to be doing what you think is right and end up making such a huge mistake - ie trusting the wrong person - and ending up with tragedy. She must be overwhelmed with grief and guilt. I hope she has good people trying to help her get through this. ;(

Anonymous said...

Wreyeter,
That mother handed over her child to him, why should she be pitied?

This mother is just as guilty as the perp. She should be charged in the murder of this innocent child.

Pak31 said...

Why is the mother being given sympathy? There are terrible crimes committed against children every day. Parents are warned and given instructions on how to handle stranger danger. Yet this mom literally hands her daughter off to some strange man!!!Really???? She should be charged. what kind of person let's their precious daughter go off with a strange man???? I will FOREVER be perplexed by this mothers choice. If mom won't protect her own child, who will?????

verde said...

The creep purportedly offered the mom clothes, etc for her family. She had previously been homeless. The pedophile preyed on her because he knew she and her children were vulnerable. Yes, she made a fatal mistake but the blame rest squarely on the perp.

~ABC said...

Pak31 said...
"I will FOREVER be perplexed by this mothers choice."
June 22, 2013 at 10:27 PM

The love of money is the root of all evil...

Anonymous said...

She was kidnapped or the Mom sent her with him? She sent her daughter with a known pedophile.

rkg said...

I don't place one shred of blame on the mother. Having been homeless at one time, and having several children to provide for, this man was offering her some assistance. It will be interesting to learn what EXACTLY he said to convince her that he was sincere; I can imagine a few stories that might make one feel quite secure.

Personally, I would NEVER have allowed my child to leave my sight with a strange man, but, people, it's not like he said offered to take her out of the store to get something. If the mother had been with this man in the store for a couple of hours (as stated in the article), it would seem that he'd had quite some time to "prove" his false intentions to her. I know, and agree, that this makes NO difference whatsoever, and would still never allow someone I didn't know well and completely trust to take my children anywhere.

But, to blame the mom in the same way you're blaming the killer - that's going way too far. Just the other day, my husband and I were working in the garden in our backyard, and our daughter was inside watching a movie. I had a sudden urge to run back inside just to make sure the front door was locked (I could not exactly recall locking it when I'd returned from an errand). Of course, everything was fine inside, and the door was locked. But, when I returned to the garden, I told my husband, "You know what's sad? The fact that I have to be in constant worry that someone will stroll by MY home that is NOT THEIRS and think, 'maybe I'll just go in this home that's not mine and take things that aren't mine, and have them for myself, because I feel like it.' How dare anyone behave that way?! I should be able to accidentally leave my door unlocked, because nobody should be wanting to take stuff that's not theirs anyway!" I really had a rant there. Anyway, the point is the same. When someone offers to help someone, they SHOULD be able to trust the person offering the help. I didn't say it was a good idea, but it's not the mother's fault that the man was evil. She didn't make him that way. But, she will blame herself every day for the rest of her life and it will eat her from the inside out. She will relive what happened to her little girl every day. She never desired to lose her daughter, and she never dreamed the man would hurt her daughter, or she would never have sent her with him. Please don't kick her when she's facing a worse nightmare than most of us will ever face in our lives.

I don't think the mother was thinking about "the love of money," either. Accepting help when you're struggling is not being greedy.

~ABC said...

Hi RKG

I would have to assume the mother is telling an honest story to share your position. It's odd to me that nearly everyone has commented they would never send their child off with someone like this woman did, yet many think she should not be held responsible for doing that very thing. Another child is dead at the hands of a sexual predator. Homeless or not, money seems to be the causative factor in this mother's decision to send her 8 year old daughter off alone with a man who was an apparent stranger to her. So it seems the only thing that made her trust him is that he was willing to spend money on them. And again, we don't really know that her story is complete nor entirely truthful.

Anonymous said...

This was snipped from a news story on Yahoo:

Prior to the alleged abduction Friday night, Smith, 56, befriended Charish and her mother at a dollar store, and "offered to take them to Wal-Mart and buy her family some clothes," Williams said.

"They appeared to be down on their luck and he could help them out."

After spending a couple hours inside the Wal-Mart together, Smith offered to buy hamburgers and walked with Charish to the front of the store, Williams said.

Instead of stopping to buy the snack, Smith walked Charish outside and the two of them got into his van, Williams said.

The girl's mother called 911 when she realized Charish and Smith were missing. An Amber Alert was issued, and a tip about a suspicious van spotted in the woods near a church led investigators to Charish's body Saturday morning.
___________
This doesn't sound like the mother allowed Charish to just go off to the food area of the store with the man, by herself. It sounds like she was following them to the food area when the guy did not stop and walked right out of the store with the girl, got in his van and drove off. The mom then called police. But it doesn't make it clear if she called LE right away, or if she waited. If she waited, that is unbelievable!

To me, this woman's culpability rests on whether she allowed her daughter to go off with the man by himself, in that Walmart. If she did, she is completely irresponsible and is to blame for putting her daughter in danger. I can't tell whether that happened or if she was literally steps behind her daughter and this man, as they walked to the food court and he just kept walking out the door with her. Again, if she immediately sprang into action, calling police, that is one thing. If for whatever reason (there is no viable reason) she waited, then she definitely guilty of endangerment and should be punished for the delay.

To me, it was not wise for this woman to have become friendly with a stranger in the first place, but the issue of allowing him to buy things the family needed is not the point here.

Anonymous said...

The van was last seen leaving at 22:41 when the mom called the police.The police report arrived at scene: at 23:20.

Anonymous said...

By Stephanie Brown
WOKV News Team
Jacksonville, FL — A registered sex offender is charged with the kidnapping and murder of a local girl.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office has arrested 56-year-old Donald Smith, who they say first approached the mother of 8-year-old Charish Perrywinkle at a Dollar General on Norwood Avenue around 7:30 PM Friday. The police report obtained by WOKV says Smith told the woman his wife had a $100 gift card to Walmart that he would use to by clothing for the woman and her three children- 5, 6, and 8 years old.
When they were at the Walmart on Lem Turner around 11 PM Friday, Smith told the mother he was going to buy food at the front of the store. Charish followed him.
“He walked to the front of the Walmart, towards the McDonald’s, but he didn’t stop at the McDonald’s, he walked outside, got in his van and left,” says JSO Homeland Security Chief of Investigations Mike Williams.
An active search soon began for Smith and Charish, and a BOLO was issued for his van. An Amber Alert was issued by morning for the missing girl.
Williams says an officer working a traffic accident on I95 Saturday afternoon recognized Smith’s van. The highway was shut down and exits blocked while he was stopped and detained without incident.
Around the same time, JSO fielded a tip from a concerned citizen who recognized the van being in the area of the United Baptist Church on Broward Road earlier in the day. Police responded, and found a body nearby. While Williams would not completely confirm that the body is that of Charish Perrywinkle, because the identity has yet to be confirmed by the Medical Examiner, he says they are very confident, and the charges facing Smith list her as the victim.
While Smith has been charged with the kidnapping and murder, Williams says they are still very early on in the investigation.
“Anybody that’s had anything to do with this case, we will obviously pursue that individual and pursue charges if necessary,” he says.
While he doesn’t believe at this time that Smith had an accomplice, police are still looking for a second vehicle.
Smith was released from jail just May 31. He has a lengthy criminal records which includes convictions for kidnapping, child abuse, lewd and lascivious behavior, lewd assault on a child, buying cocaine and grand theft. Police had performed a routine address verification on him just Friday morning.
Our News Partner Action News reports police arrived at Smith's home in San Jose on Segovia Avenue where he lives with his mother. Neighbors say Smith worked as a painter, and that he just got out of jail three weeks ago.

Charish attended Chaffee Trail Elementary School, according to Duval County Schools spokeswoman Marsha Oliver.

If you have any information on this, call JSO at 904-630-0500. You can also email them atJSOCrimeTips@jaxsheriff.org.
COMMENT(1)
31983

Anne said...

Most sex offenders are natural predators, if this guy had pretended to be an official at one time calling another child, that definitely would make him a predator in my book.

So sexual predator or sex offender, this makes a difference. Does anyone know for sure why?

Another child abused and killed. It's a crime that this perp was allowed out.

verde said...

The creep purportedly offered the mom clothes, etc for her family. She had previously been homeless. The pedophile preyed on her because he knew she and her children were vulnerable. Yes, she made a fatal mistake but the blame rest squarely on the perp.

Anonymous said...

I agree in part Verde, but don't lose sight of the fact that this is a stupid mother who handed her beautiful daughter over to a pedophile killer that she had known all of about two hours!

How simple minded can one get, meeting up with a stranger in a dollar store, allowing herself and her children to be picked up by this strange man who 'wants to buy them clothing' and takes off with him in his auto to the Walmart. THEN trusts this stranger so much that she allows him to do the very thing we teach our children NOT to do, leave with a stranger; she allows him to take her eight year old off alone to get a burger at McDS's; only he walks out of the store with the child in tow.

This is a very very stupid woman, not competent to protect the safety of the children in her care. This woman needs someone looking after her welfare, certainly not her looking after the welfare of children.

I do feel badly for her, and sorry they had been so poor that she would believe a stranger; but so VERY sorry for the poor little girl who met her tragic and horrible death at the hands of a pedophile killer that never would have happened had her mother been looking out for her. Observer

Sus said...

Donald J. Smith is a predator and unfortunately he is good at it. He has been able to pick up a number of children in predatory circumstances. He once impersonated a DCS employee, called a girl in foster care, and talked to her about sexual matters for 20 minutes. He then talked her grandmother into bringing her to McDonald's for questioning. This pervert is good at his sick games.

With poor Charish and her mother, he used several popular tactics. TV and Youtube are full of shows where someone stops a family and buys them clothes or remakes their yard, or whatever. There is a popular youtube film which encourages buying clothes for the homeless to "make them smile" going around right now.

Then there is McDonald's. Smith has used that one to lure young girls before.

Last, how many of you have shopped with three young children getting new things? Remember how excited and babbling they are? Or it was later, maybe the younger ones (I believe 4 and 5 years old) were fussy. Smith could have easily slipped off with Charish...it is like culling the weak from the herd.

The mother alerted the store and they called police within minutes. I doubt she had her own cellphone. So the timing seems as if she was following right behind.

I believe little Charish was taken by a predator determined to get a wonderful little girl that day. I pray her mother can find some peace within herself.

Vita said...

Many that follow here, know that when a story doesn't set well, some of us dig for more information. First I would like to know what Charish's real name is. That the reporters continue to spell it Charish. Her name is Cherish? I will spell it Cherish.

They misreported her mothers name, continue to spell it incorrectly. Or the names were given to LE and press by the mother incorrectly on purpose?

Mother's name is said in the press as Reyne Perriwinkle. There is no such person. Her real name? Rayne Perrywinkle. Her real name? no, it's not her real name, it's a name she created for herself in 04. Her records in Duval County.
She has records under her new name, that are of solicitation, using her body parts in a manner in exchange for ching. Not on the street, but within being employed, going beyond the call of duty to make someones life memorable. Bio Dad is in the Jacksonville paper arrested for being a John. The portion of the article here, as you read it. Cherish was with her mother, as an infant living in homeless shelters. She in the article to have many step children, Mom married? or they are all boyfriends? Mother needs extra added sympathy? as it is written in some pressers her addresses given do not check out. Her to be located is a difficult task? but she is Telling the Truth? that she met this perfect stranger in the Dollar store, and packed up herself, the 3 children into a older model VAN with a man in less than 30 mins of meeting him.

She is 45 yrs old. She is not a 20some yr old that fell upon stupid. Her stories to change considerably? or they are re-reporting what they did not know at jump? Her story to be, she and her Daughter, the 2 other children( hers?) went to the Dollar store. While in the store a man approached her, befriended her, offered to take her/kids to Walmart. She and her 3 children get into his vehicle, he to drive them to meet his fake wife/go to Walmart.

The sketchy is when the Cheeseburger comes into play that, his words to mother. That mother allowed or told Cherish to go with him? or Cherish simply tagged along with him towards the in-store McDonald's. That he waltzed out the Walmart doors with Cherish, she the victim of his lies? or she was told to go with him? Mother to tell who, the last word she heard out of Cherish was " Cheeseburger".

The said that Stranger man was going to buy clothing for the family, or was it for Cherish? She to be his focus of how he approached Mother. Cherish is the only one who does know the truth, and she is no longer here to tell it.

The mother and estranged bio father have been in a tussle of custody for years. Cherish to be the tug o war. Dad was to receive Cherish via her being put on a plane, sent to him, in California. Was court ordered, she was to be with him, in Cali. The day after she was reported vanished, she was to be on a plane. The custody issue is no longer, as she is no longer.

Neighbor of mother/boyfriend in press to say that, he learned from the DAD, (must be bf, Dad is in California)he the BF was getting worried that Mother/kids had not returned home, from shopping at Walmart.

That he told the Neighbor, He (BF) drove them to the Walmart earlier in the evening and dropped them off. Not the Dollar Store, no, he took them to Walmart, he drove them. How were they to return if he dropped them off? He began to worry at what point? How does the Dollar store fit into this? If he dropped them at the Walmart himself?

Mother is said in LE reports, she told LE she had never met Smith before. Police to believe her because she said so? I do not believe her.

She provided photos by LE, she picked Smith out, she to say yes that is him. LE was provided video of Smith on surveillance tapes from inside the Walmart. They needed her to vouch it was him? He in store video with Cherish in the little girls dept.

It does not add. The added statements and then the custody battle to come to a head. Mother no choice was to send Cherish to California for the summer.

Anonymous said...

Please help find Ayla
4:15: Charish Perriwinkle loved the color pink, watching Disney movies, BEING IN WATER and going to school.
That description of the 8-year-old girl, who was abducted Friday from a Walmart and later killed, appears in court documents about a custody dispute between Charish's parents, who were not married.

Sus said...

Where is the story coming from that the family rode in a van with Smith? Could someone please cite a news source?

My understanding is that Smith approached them at Dollar General earlier on Friday night with his story of the gift cert to Walmart. So they met up at Walmart later. Supposedly Smith was bringing his wife along. I don't know how he explained "the wife's" absence.

I could be wrong. But do notice this perv is a smooth talker. He talked a grandmother into bringing a girl to meet him at McDonald's for an "examination. " I guess we'll have to wait for the mother's words.

Vita said...

Mother issues statements to press, today. She to request she is not on camera. Does anyone reading here have a Dollar General in their area? if they carry children's clothing? she to say that this is how it all began, she could not afford to buy Cherish a dress at the Dollar store.She to say she felt very tense, was sitting UP straight once inside his car, bells going off that she was a victim of foul play? if this was the truth once inside the Walmart would you not beeline for Store Security? and or call 911 from within the store, I made a STUPID mistake, and am in fear of my safety, my children's safety, evidently not.

She knowing she was not going to see Cherish for the next countless weeks, - a perfect stranger seems to be the Blessing she needed? to buy Cherish clothing. I wonder if they have surveillance cameras inside the Dollar General?
Note to all, never said in the statements is " cell phones" - she did or didn't witness him on a cell phone? she witnessed him, he speaking with his fake wife? She did or didn't communicate with her BF who is said to have dropped her and the kids off at the WALMART earlier that evening.
--Mother speaks

"Thank you to everyone for all your thoughts and prayers," she told the dozen strangers who were gathered when she arrived. "My little girl, I just don't know why, why?"

Perrywinkle was very emotional, and Action News respected her wishes not to go on camera, but she approached our reporters to share more about what happened Friday night.

Rayne Perrywinkle tells Action News that Donald Smith approached her inside the Dollar General on Edgewood Avenue, after he overheard her telling her daughter that she couldn't afford a dress the girl was asking for.

"He saw me putting things back because I couldn't afford them, and he offered to help me pay for some other items with a Walmart gift card that his wife had. We waited in that parking lot for a long time for her to come to the store, but then he said she [his wife] wanted him to meet her at the Walmart."

Perrywinkle told Action News she thought Smith was "creepy and annoying," but eventually seemed genuine in his offer to help.

"Part of me wanted to believe this was a blessing for my children, and that's what I kept telling myself, but when we got in the car I felt very tense and was sitting straight up."

Perrywinkle says she felt uneasy as soon as she got into Smith's van.

Perrywinkle says Smith continued to follow her every move inside the Walmart and insisted his wife was on her way. As they waited for his "wife" to arrive, he yelled "from across the way" and said he was going to McDonald's for a burger.

"He asked if I wanted anything and I heard Cherish say cheeseburger.'

I thought she stayed near me.

I didn't realize she went with him. I didn't let her go with him like people think. He was creepy, so I wouldn't have let her go, I just didn't realize she was gone."

Director Mike Williams of the JSO's Investigations and Homeland Security Division said Saturday that the amount of time between Cherish's disappearance and the time her mother called 911 for help was "not long."
===========
He takes her/kids to Walmart, he the payor, her said, he was hovering her? Isn't she the reason why he is in the Store? he to pay. She thought Cherish, stayed near her? 8 yr old Cherish was in charge of Cherish? the Surveillance video's of Walmart, press said the shopping event was of 2 hours+. 2 hours of hovering and she could NOT Smell him as a Perp? Mother called 911 at 11PM, shortly after she realized Cherish was gone.

http://www.actionnewsjax.com/content/topstories/story/Memorial-growing-outside-of-Highlands-Baptist/oT9WC_Sw0kG2fhwfCYpblQ.cspx

Sus said...

http://www.mytvjax.com/mostpopular/story/Memorial-growing-outside-of-Highlands-Baptist/oT9WC_Sw0kG2fhwfCYpblQ.cspx

I just found this, also. Seems the mother did ride in the van. Some quotes from the article.

Rayne Perrywinkle tells Action News that Donald Smith approached her inside the Dollar General on Edgewood Avenue, after he overheard her telling her daughter that she couldn't afford a dress the girl was asking for.

"He saw me putting things back because I couldn't afford them, and he offered to help me pay for some other items with a Walmart gift certificate that his wife had. We waited in that parking lot for a long time for her to come to the store, but then he said she wanted him to meet her at Walmart. "

Perrywinkle told Action News she thought Smith was "creepy and annoying", but eventually seemed genuine in his offer to help.

"Part of me wanted to believe this was a blessing for my children, and that's what I kept telling myself, but when we got in the car I felt very tense and was sitting straight up."

Perrywinkle says Smith continued to follow her every move inside the Walmart and insisted his wife was on her way. As they waited for his "wife" to arrive, he yelled "from across the way" and said he was going to McDonald's for a burger.

"He asked if I wanted anything and I heard Cherish say 'cheeseburger'. I thought she stayed near me. I didn't realize she went with him. I didn't let her go with him like people think. He was creepy, so I wouldn't have let her go. I just didn't realize she was gone."

sha said...

If this mother loved her child, then she doesn't need any of you judging her or saying/writing anything because she will blame herself and feel like crap the rest of her life without any vitriol from any of you, even if she was not to 'blame'.

If this mother didn't care about her child then, again, nothing anyone says is going to make her give a crap. She will not feel any blame no matter how many people fault her.

The person to blame is the monster that did it. And if we read and watch enough news we see that those monsters can be anyone, a parent, grandparent, pastor, priest, babysitter, sibling, on and on.

Anonymous said...

Note she reports things in the passive:
He saw me putting things away...
I heard Cherish say cheeseburger..

Also, he offered to buy "some other items"? What other items???? Panties? What? There's still something off here. Majorly off. Did they know each other before they met at dollar general????

Anonymous said...

I thought she stayed near me....

Where was the mother, in the store?

What other items did he say he was going to buy?

TEN TO ONE she was in the dressing room, he was outside, "across the way", Charish was outside, and that's when he took her.

What did she do/offer to get the clothes? That's what I wonder.

I would bet any amount of imaginary money that she was in the dressing room because he offered to buy her clothes.

Anonymous said...

P.S. When I say outside, i mean, outside the dressing room.

This also would explain why mom said, "I heard her say cheeseburger."

Why she thought she stayed near by.

JerseyJane said...

In my area, Dollar General is a store that is NOT just a dollar. Items in store range maybe up to $20, maybe more. I don't shop there. I have seen circulars and I have seen seasonal clothing but basic.(shorts,tanks, sundresses).
Nothing was going to stop that man, he invested his time. He was not losing out on an opportunity when he saw it.

But that does not excuse the mom. The biggest problem I have with this mom is her insane thoughts. To think that she and 3 children can go into a stranger's car and be safe is ridiculous .. ALL 3 of them children were at a very high risk to turn up missing and dead.

This reminds me of the 15yo Nicole Noble. She bragged to a man(her killer) that bit her the night, that she was meeting up with another man and he was supplying her with FREE 20 bag of marijuana and said"And I didn't
even have to flirt with him!!"

What has happened to this generation and their children that look for ANYTHING that they can get, and at anyway they can do it. Is it because the governemt is so quick to have raised these generations to be free loaders? And it's acceptable at any cost? Hanging out with a comeplete stranger around you and your 3 kids for 2plus hours is insane!!!! If that man wanted to give her that giftcard it would have been rapidly handed to her and off the giver would have went, not wanting praise or "ties"( like help spending it) as this disgusting man achieved.

~ABC said...

Walmart Mom is not telling all she knows. Count on it.

Miss Nonnie Mouse said...

Vita,

Yes, there are Dollar General stores in my area, and they have quite a bit of children's clothing there. They carry everything for any age/sex, from underwear to bathing suits, pj's, shoes, play clothes, dresses.

Anonymous said...

ABC, I agree with you.

The statement about her daughter saying she wanted a cheeseburger and then suddenly not standing near her, sounds awfully hinky. That account makes no sense at all!

Shelley said...

How does any one in this day in time allow their child to go with anyone they dont know very well.

I didnt see where it introduced how they knew each other. Did I miss it?

Still, I doubt this was more than an aquaitence or she would have known about his status.

Enough with these parents.

Take care of your kids. Protect them.

I know you cant watch them day and night but these types of stories are ones that NEVER should happen.

Anymore than letting your child have a sleep over at Michal Jacksons.

There is enough that is out of our control. Parents dont need to be handing their child over to a predator.

To me, that is child endangerment and charges should be filed.

~ABC said...

Shelley said...
How does any one in this day in time allow their child to go with anyone they dont know very well.

They don't.

Anonymous said...

Found a statement by the father of this poor girl.

http://www.news4jax.com/news/boyfriend-of-cherishs-mother-speaks/-/475880/20693252/-/5s2kgcz/-/index.html

rob said...

People want to be trusting. They want the free gift. People want to be good to my children.

Those times are gone. You don't accept rides from strangers. You don't allow your child out of your sight.
As someone said above, if he had a gift card, he would have handed it over and left. Enjoy.
He was just waiting for the right moment. Probably planning this the whole year he sat in jail.
But even now, has his fantasy done him in? Or will he serve a few more years, and dream up new fantasys.

Anonymous said...

rob said Or will he serve a few more years,...

His arrest record has 1977 as the date of his first sex crime.

Miss Nonnie Mouse said...

Anonymous 11:07 AM,

I read the article you referenced. It didn't sound to me like the mother's boyfriend is Cherish's father. He said he'd known her since she was 10 months old and I didn't read him saying he was her dad.

Anonymous said...

when i heard the description of the clothing this little girl was wearing, my first reaction was why is this little 8 year old dressed in a sleeveless, shoulderless sundress at 11pm at night? That gradually became, this mother is either really unlucky or just downright stupid, and now i just want to shake the mom. i am sorry, i am a mom too, i have been in rough places in life... NEVER would i get in the car with a total stranger who makes me feel uncomfortable. she was suppose to put her on an airplane to her fathers house at 6am the next morning. I am not sure how she thought she was going to accomplish that by being out until 11pm. Not to mention that she had two even younger little girls with her. This mom's story has holes size of Texas in it. I do not care how down on your luck one is... As a parent you have an obligation to protect your kids at all costs. This mom obviously did not think this applied to her. who in their right mind gets in the car with a total stranger, and spends 4 hrs at wal-mart with him while knowing full well they got to get their kid packed up and ready to get on an airplane in less than 5 hrs. i am sorry, i know the mom has to live with her choices for the rest of her life, but she had direct hand in what happened to her daughter. i don't know what possessed her to allow this man to get close to her, get in the car with him and her three kids and then spend 4 hrs in walmart with him while her three kids are now tired and cranky(i have enough kids to know that 8,4,3 are past their bedtime at 11pm)