Minister Quanell X demands justice for July death of sisters in Cass County: Zi’Ariel, A’Miyah and Te’Mari

The New Black Panther Nation held a press conference outside Cass County Correctional Facility late last week, advocating and demanding justice for three young girls who were found dead in a pond outside Atlanta city limits at the end of July last year.

Zi’Ariel, A’Miyah, and Te’Mari were determined to have died by homicide, according to a press release from the Cass County District Attorney’s Office about two weeks ago.

According to the release, the three girls were found by the coroner to have lacerations to their faces and to have been strangled. The girls had not accidentally drowned, as previously thought.

The three young sisters were pulled from a private pond by a dive team on County Road 3319 off Texas Highway 77, just a few hours after being reported missing while their mother was working at a care facility in Texarkana.

Minister Quanell X, leader of New Black Panther Nation said he was deeply saddened by the tragedy, as well as the handling of the investigation. The minister said he wants to see justice served for the girls and their mother, Shammaonique Oliver-Wickerson.

Oliver-Wickerson has three more living children who were present the night her other three children were murdered.

“We are hurting with this mother and her family because we don’t understand how three beautiful little black girls could be murdered in this county and yet the lead investigative agencies didn’t even know it was a murder, they looked at it as an accidental drowning,” Quanell X said. “A killer is on the loose in Cass County; A killer has not been arrested. A cold-blooded child murderer is still among you.”

“We don’t understand why the investigative agencies, in this case, have not demanded that the FBI get involved, take over this investigation, and bring justice to this mother, justice to this county, and bring justice to this community.

Just shy of one year later, there have been almost no answers, Quanell X said.

“We are demanding that the FBI get involved in this case,” he said. “I refuse to believe if these were three little white girls that the FBI wouldn’t be on the ground knocking at every door in Cass County.”

Every citizen in Cass County–regardless of their race, status or class– should be outraged that a child killer is on the loose, the minister and leader said.

“It’s awful that you have these babies found in that pond and nobody knew a damned thing, this is pathetic,” Quanell X said. “I cannot believe that … county commissioners state elected officials of this city have not collectively come together and called for respective agencies with the resources, the manpower to investigate this case to bring a conclusion to it. That’s what we’re asking that’s what we are demanding.”

Dr. Candice Matthews, National Minister of Politics for NBPN and well-known advocate for children and families also spoke up at the press conference about her disbelief in there not having been an arrest made in the case.

“If our black children mattered that means they would have handled this with the utmost sense of urgency, and that is not what has happened,” Matthews said. “We have a bone to pick with Cass County because one thing about it, we stand in the gap for our kids, and this is our family. Because when you step on one of us, we’re all coming.”

Matthews contended the FBI should be brought in to investigate and said that legislators and elected officials need to face accountability.

“You all were supposed to take this very seriously because if it would have been your kids, we’d have heard all the way in Houston about this case. We are not going to play about (this case) at all,” Matthews said.

The minister told reporters that the NBPN is still learning about the details of what occurred the night the three little girls were murdered.

“We’re still learning like the rest of the nation is learning,” Quanell X said. “All we do know is that three beautiful babies were found in a pond and It was an assumed drowning because of a sham investigation–a lazy investigation by investigators, who obviously didn’t have the resources, the training that was necessary to properly address an investigative crime scene.”

The minister said that for nearly a year the nation hasn’t responded to the heinous murders of the children, which saddens him.

“Something has to crack and change immediately in this case, the Texas Rangers are not enough because obviously, the ‘Lone Ranger’ isn’t getting the job done,” Quanell X said. “You have a child killer on the loose. One who was not afraid to murder three children. And if you kill three you will kill more. Especially if you believe you can get away with it as this perpetrator has.”

Oliver-Wickerson, the mother of the girls was asked about the recently released findings from the autopsy that show that the children had not accidentally drowned, as was originally believed.

“When that came out we all assumed it was an accidental drowning but I guess last month when they came out and said it was a strangulation and that my kids had lacerations on their faces that is true,” Oliver-Wickerson said. “But they don’t know how they had those (lacerations) or how they got them. They were in the water for so long that really most of the evidence and their faces and all that was kind of messed up from being in the water for too long.”

Quanell X said he feels investigators may have lost valuable time by not calling in seasoned investigators immediately.

“They lost tremendously valuable time,” Quanell X said. “I’m saying to Cass County: lock your doors at night, lock your windows at night. I’m saying to the residents and parents of Cass County protect your babies because a killer is on the loose. We need you in Cass County to guard up and protect your children.”

“We are demanding answers,” the minister added. Journal-Staff asked Quanell X if the NBPN had spoken with the Texas Rangers.

“We’ve reached out to them, and they have not responded for comment,” Quanell X said. “But I’ve dealt with the (Texas) Rangers, brother, for years. And they are still one of the most racist organizations in the state of Texas. Barely got any black rangers, still in 2023.”

“That’s why you never heard me say we want the Texas Ranger more deeply involved. We want the FBI, the Department of Justice to get involved in this,” he said The group with the NBPN announced they would be going to the pond where the girls were found to pray that answers would soon be brought to light.

Though the press conference was held outside Cass County jail, only media and support persons for Oliver- Wickerson were present.

There were no Cass County officials spotted at the scene and the building was closed for lunchtime.