God Bless, Latoyia Figueroa and Child

Well, the waiting is over. May she rest in peace:

Latoyia Figueroa Found Murdered.

This is not a surprising denoument to her disappearance. Indeed, only someone avoiding likely realities could not assume the worst, given how long it has been. Her boyfriend Stephen Poaches, the father of the unborn child that perished with Ms. Figueroa, has been arrested - with a bulletproof vest on and a gun in his possession. Yes, this is clearly someone who we all know couldn't possibly be capable of murder.

He is, however, innocent until proven guilty. But he is not on my hitparade, as I blogged a few weeks ago, because it's clear that, at a minimum, he's a selfish SOB that thought Ms. Figueroa's disappearance meant nothing more to him than the loss of a babymama when in fact someone actually cared about what had happened to her and the baby, even if he did not. I do hope that if he is responsible, nobody will "just leave him alone" now -- as he whined on radio a few weeks ago -- but he bears the full weight the law has to bear.

Rest in Peace, Ms. Figueroa, and prayers to your unborn child who died with you and to the living daughter you left behind. Know that your disappearance and death has opened a few minds, if nothing else, about the fact that women of color do have value in this world. And that folks do care.

(Thanks again to everyone in the blogosphere, starting with Richard Cranium, whose demand that Latoyia Figueroa's story be told no doubt aided in reaching a relatively quick resolution, even if a grim one.)