Slain Pa. Woman's Ex-Boyfriend Arrested By DAN ROBRISH, Associated Press Writer 29 minutes ago

Police have recovered the remains of a missing pregnant woman and arrested the father of the unborn child in the death, authorities announced Saturday.

The suspect, Stephen Poaches, is a former boyfriend of 24-year-old LaToyia Figueroa, who has been missing for a month.

District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham said Poaches, 25, would be charged with two counts of murder and related offenses for the deaths of Figueroa and her fetus.

Authorities did not provide a motive or say what led them to suspect Poaches. Poaches' lawyer, Michael Coard, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

And so the sad story of Latoyia ends...

For those of us who blogged the story, and who defended Latoyia's name during the period she was "officialy missing," we can take some solace in the fact that at least her story was told. Like Tamika Huston before her, she was another victimized woman of color, mostly ignored by the media, until the blogsphere took up the fight. I did not know her, but I have known many women like her. My prayers go out to her family and friends, and may she now find peace.

Like Latoyia Figueroa, who remains missing, another young woman has went missing on the East Coast.

Her name is Mia Carter.

She is about 5' 7 and 117 lbs
She has long wavy black-brown hair usually up in a ponytail or bun. She was las seen on June 19 2005 in Glenarden Maryland

She has a light mole on the left side above her lip.
If you have ANY info about her please call Megan Battle at:301-773-3799

If you have a blog and read this, especially if you are on the East Coast, please give it some attention. It only takes a moment and could save a life.

Two gentlemen who know Latoyia, spoke out in my comments section today. I thought their comments were important enough to highlight.

"Latoyia is a friend of mine. I drove her and her first and only true love to the emergency room to give birth to their beautiful daughter. Regardless of what is said out of ignorance about Latoyia--she is and has always been a wonderful person. Many times young black women do not have the proper guidance with certain issues, but that does not make them any less than white women. Latoyia has a daughter that she loves and cares for tremendously. Not knowing the status of her being, all negative words slice like razors covered with salt. We all love Latoyia--We all miss Latoyia---COME BACK HOME

If you dont know who she is--you just wouldn't understand. Her life is just as precious as the Pope's or the Virgin Mary. God placed her here on this earth to live and learn--just like every other person who is blessed enough to be born.

Thank you for your efforts. It is very hard trying to surf the internet and news stations to find out the status of those efforts. It is a nightmare not knowing. Everyday that passes could be another day subtracted from Latoyia's life. More media attention equals more eyes, and more eyes will equal somebody finding Latoyia.

Always remember that Savage Neighborhoods were created by The Savage Government filled with savage ingorant redneck whites with the same mentality as Mike."

Gabe

"Before I reply to this idiot's post, let me begin by saying Latoyia is and always will be a friend of mine. Not only was she a good mother, but she was a funny, beautiful woman. She is loved by many people, hence the huge rewards and the minions of people searching for her and praying for her safe return.

Wow. This post proves to me that the Internet is now available in trailers across America. It is extremely appalling to me that some idiot like you is making judgement calls on someone that quite possibly might have lost her life. I, like my brother Gabe, had the pleasure of knowing Toyia for many years. Contrary to your ignorant ass statements, Toyia was just as important as the Halloway girl. Irresponsibe lifestyle? She was a mother that worked 2 jobs to support her daughter. What's irresponsible about that?

Dangerous lifestyle? High Crime area? Well, Mr. Caveman, I am a product of this same area, and I am both very intelligent and successful. Unlike many of your suicidal counterparts, our people are strong and resiliant. Our surroundings do not determine our outcomes.

Your 2nd grade education is extremely evident in your ill-conceived jokes about "fried foods" and "savages". Just remember that daily on Jerry Springer, more than one of your relatives from your trailer park are represented.

I am glad to see that this case is getting national media attention. No one complained when Lacy Peterson's story was on the news daily. I have yet to hear anyone mention anything about being annoyed about Jon Benet Ramsey, whose story is STILL in the news sometimes. Stories like this need to be placed on the news, and need to continue to be covered until they are solved. If you don't like it, turn your little tv off in your double wide, and put your head back up your ass."

Yellow Scorpion

"Missing Black Women: A liberal blogger discusses the missing Latoyia Figueroa's non-Laci-Peterson-like news coverage. If Figueroa had been married to the father of her child/children or anyone, would mainstream media be more interested? Discuss."
Lashawn Barber

Just adding to those links you so crave LaShawn...

Eh, and the answer to your question is NO! Tamika Houston has been missing for over a year, and got about as much coverage as Latoyia, and she does not have the "baggage," you Right Wing Religious nuts like to talk about. Stop Hating in the name of Jesus. Jesus don't like Ugly LaShawn, and your hate filled rhetoric, is pretty ugly.

This is an excellent piece:

Latoyia Figueroa is far from a blond, blue-eyed belle of the Bible Belt south. Nor is she a petite housewife from a California suburb. But like Natalee Holloway, the Alabama teenager last seen in Aruba over Memorial Day weekend, Figueroa has apparently vanished without a trace, and like Laci Peterson, Figueroa's loved ones are as concerned about her whereabouts as they are for the unborn child she is carrying.

It's been two weeks since Figueroa went missing, yet her story hasn't garnered nearly half of the national spotlight captured by Holloway, Peterson, Lori Hacking or Jennifer Milbanks in the days following their respective disappearances. A story about Figueroa, a 24-year-old mother from Philadelphia, appeared on CNN for the first time nearly 10 days after she was reported missing. A recent check of transcripts of the cable network's "Larry King Live" talk show found at least 10 episodes in which Holloway was the primary story, an average of one night a week since the girl's May 30 disappearance.

Read the whole thing.. The most compelling comment for me was:

"Relatives became worried when Figueroa, a good and caring mother by all accounts, failed to pick up her daughter, Izhanae, from daycare. The next day, she didn't show up for work at a T.G.I. Friday's restaurant, where she is a waitress. Police say her cell phone and credit cards have not been used since July 18, the day she was last seen."

Kind of puts to rest the image of her being presented by some folks doesnt it?

Hat Tip All Spin Zone!

I went looking for Latoyia Figueroa coverage tonight on Technorati, and found 300+ Post. The effort to help find this missing mother is still going strong in some quarters, but pales in comparison with the nearly 5000 on Natalee Holloway.

This post from Rob's Blog sort of says it all for me:

We hear all about Laci Peterson, we get daily updates on Natalee Holloway, back before her body was found we got inundated with news about Chandra Levy.

Ever heard of Latoyia Figueroa? Probably not. Seems she doesn't fit the mainstream media's "this will sell papers and get people to watch us on the tube" model.

From Wired, we learn of a blogger effort to raise awareness of the pregnant mother of one who has been missing since mid-July. While any missing persons case is sad, it's interesting what cases get big national attention...what made Holloway so special that her case gets coverage on par with the death of kings and the war in Iraq, while Latoyia gets "section B" coverage?

So what are we going to do. Will the search for Latoyia just turn into a momentary fad? I hope not. I pray daily for Natalee Holloway, and hope that by the grace of God she is found safely, but there is room out there for another story about a missing woman, a mother... And we should not lose site of this.

For every blogger I have helped with a pet cause. For everyone who reads and enjoys this blog. I am asking for something. I am asking for you to help Latoyia Figueroa's family. I am asking you to dig deep, drop the price of a pack of ciggarettes, a beer, a happy meal... Whatever. Just do it.

From the All Spin Zone:

As of Sunday evening, ASZ has raised $2,473 for the Philadelphia Citizens Crime Commission Latoyia Figueroa reward fund. Since the time we broke this story over a week ago, there's been well over 50,000 visits to All Spin Zone. You can do the math. We can do better. So the fund drive is being extended until Monday, August 1, at 8PM EDT.

I was thinking a goal of $10,000 by the end of the past weekend was modest. Cripes, progressive and conservative bloggers can raise $100,000 for a political candidate literally overnight. And this is an issue that should certainly transcend any

political boundaries. But I've adjusted my expectations, and I'd like
to get to $3000 by the end of the day on Monday. The target is to have
a donation check to the CCC fund by mid-week.



Any questions on whether this is legit or not (hey, it's a valid
quesiton; I'm just a blogger after all), please contact Santo
Montecalvo at the CCC by calling 215-546-TIPS.



Latoyia Figueroa Reward Fund - PayPal Link (Credit card, check, PayPal account)

Latoyia Figueroa Reward Fund - Amazon Honor System (Credit card only)

Before your faithful scribe finaly makes CNN's Inside the Blogs! Hehe..

This from AOL News Today:

I guess Mikey got it all wrong about Latoyia falling off the MSM radar. Sorry Mikey, I know this just breaks your heart!

Welcome AOL News Readers!
Stick arround, lots of good stuff going on at ISOU!

"My point is that this is not national news by any measure. As I've said elsewhere, this woman's best friend says she could have been harmed by any one of the scores of guys by whom she's getting long stroked. This is a woman who leads a dangerous and unconventional lifestyle in a high crime area, and is now missing--big surprise. The Natalee Holloway case, by contrast, is national news because it involves a beautiful, articulate young girl who received a full scholarship to college who turns up missing at an island beach resort where there has been 1 murder in all of 2004. Big, big difference. The radical bedwetters picked the wrong case to make their point and used really poor judgment.

POSSIBLE SUSPECTS: Baby Fatha No. 1; Baby Fatha No. 2.; Guys she's messing wit (see best friend of LaToyia to try to narrow the field); Other woman pregnant by Baby Fatha No. 2 who kicked LaToyia in pregnant stomach.

Do you not want to throw-up from this garbage. These people live like savages and then you sit here being an apologist for them saying they deserve "MORE" news coverage. Are you kidding me?

A POSSIBLE LEAD IN THE CASE:

"Neither of them (LaToyia or Baby Fatha No. 2) had the money to pay the $35 insurance co-pay (to check the baby's health), so they left the hospital and drove back to southwest Philadelphia, police said.

Before heading back to his place, the pair stopped off for some fried food at a seafood-takeout restaurant."

"So, they didn't have enough money collectively to pay for a $35 co-pay, so they decided to get down on some greasy fish sticks and fries. This makes my point. Nothing that happens with these irresponsible people, in this war zone of a neighborhood, should surprise anyone. Hence, it's not national news."


Commenter Michael in comments to this post.

Congratulations Mike! At least you managed to avoid pointing out the Natalee is white. Other than that, you basically said that because Latoyia allegedly lived a lifestyle that you don't approve of, that her value as a human being, and that of her unborn child, who has no "record," alleged or otherwise, is somehow less important than Natalee's.

That is a crock.

EVERY Life has value, and this is not just about Latoyia and Natalee. It is about a sad record by the Major Media of covering infinitum, cases involving attractive white girls and women, while ignoring missing minorities.

Frankly some of your comments are extremely racist in nature:

"So, they didn't have enough money collectively to pay for a $35 co-pay, so they decided to get down on some greasy fish sticks and fries. This makes my point. Nothing that happens with these irresponsible people, in this war zone of a neighborhood, should surprise anyone. Hence, it's not national news."

There is a big difference between $35 for poor people, and $10 worth of fast food. But that is not the point... "These irresponsible people?" Please... What the hell is that supposed to mean?

Finally, why does it upset you so much that Bloggers are trying to help this person and her family?

You make comments about how press interviews with Latoyia's father were embarrassing to minorities.

You spoke about how illiterate he was.... Did you see the interview with the Dad of the little girl from Florida, who was raped and murdered by a child molester a while back? I did not see the interview with Latoyia's father, but I would guess that he was no more illiterate than that little girl's father. Did you see that interview and think, "Jesus, this guy is making all us White Folk look bad?" What I saw was a father in great pain, and I hurt for him, just as I hurt for the Parents of Natalee and Latoyia.

There is room in the National Press for both of these Young Women. Get off your high horse and either help or shut up and let those who want to, to do so.

I get a trackback from a blogger today who seems to be a bit upset that Bloggers are concerned about finding Latoyia Figueroa.

This in particular stood out in the post:

The whiner-groaner-bloggers continue to try to make Laytoyia as prominent in the media's eye as Natalee Holloway:
Here!

He goes on to analyze the motives of bloggers blogging on behalf of Latoyia, making the claim it seems that some bloggers are "racializing the issue." He goes on to reference a very good post which mentions how some bloggers are comparing the Natalee Halloway story to Latoyia and ridiculing the efforts of those concerned about Natalee. Fair enough. I have been guilty of this myself.

But for anyone, as he does, to imagine that there is NOT a huge disparity on how cases involving "pretty white girls," as opposed to missing minority women, is simply ridiculous. Like the vast majority of people, I pray that Natalee will come home safely, or that her abductors will be brought to justice. But it is entirely appropriate to call the media on the carpet for how they handle these cases.

I remember the Story of Pvt. Jessica Lynch, the cute little Southern White Girl who was captured in Iraq, and how she was all but made a National Hero, while a less attractive Black woman, was being held and abused at the same time, and received a fraction of the attention by the media. Likewise the Elizabeth Smart story dominated the news for over a year, at the same time minority children were going missing or being murdered or abused all across America.

The post goes on to say:

NPR has taken note the Bloggers are Blogging about Latoyia, but they've also chosen to display the more culturally-charming "white" photo of Latoyia... you can See the Photo, Hear the NPR Report HERE

Listen to the NPR report, and then check out this NPR piece.

I don't think any decent person would deny the Halloway family the support they have gotten for their missing daughter. But to stick our heads in the sand and pretend that racism does not exist, or worse, to turn around and attack those who are trying to get an equal level of public awareness for Latoyia is not only disengenious, but it is hateful.

Oh and Dave... I don't think there is a Bloggers conspiracy to post white looking, or black looking, pictures. That assessment on your part probably speaks more to your own racial attitudes than any "Reality Check." When I wrote my first post, I simply placed the first picture I found of her.

Keep Latoyia in the news:

I found this on iFlipflop today:

I copied Howard's post directly from Philly Future, where he started this thread about Latoyia Figueroa last week. Please help out on your site if you can. And help find Latoyia Figueroa:

When the news of Latoyia Figueroa's disapperance first made it onto the Philly Future front page last week, she was a relatively anonymous missing person. Unfortunately, she is still both relatively anonymous and missing. That's the continuing sad truth of the matter.

The hopeful news is that, thanks to local bloggers like Richard at All Spin Zone, and those who've followed his lead, her name is starting to get out, and hopefully her face has a greater chance of being seen by someone who may be able to help find her. Richard's post on Latoyia has been picked up by Evan Derkacz at Alternet.

Richard asks, and we echo his request, for all Philly area bloggers to put the word out on their blogs about Latoyia Figueroa, who's been missing for over a week now. Include a picture of her. Even if you only get one visitor a day, every little bit helps raise awareness of this missing Philadelphia woman, who is not only five months pregnant, but also has a seven-year-old waiting for her at home.

Another course of action Richard has suggested is to write an email to Nancy Grace

at CNN, who has provided wall-to-wall coverage of missing teenager
Natalee Holloway. In a world where only the white-skinned, blond-haired
young women seem to be missed by the mainstream media, these are some
ways to help bring Latoyia's story a little attention too.

UPDATE: CNN is covering the story.

If this story does not get more attention, the hypocrisy of the media in dealing with missing women will be MORE than apparent. Yes, by all means write to Nancy Grace, America's Most Wanted, Larry King, anyone who can help keep this story in the news.

I guess I have been away from the news too much the last few days! I found this on Great Scat. It will be interesting to see if this story gets the attention that Natalee Halloway has gotten.

Latoyia Figueroa Reward Fund - You Can Help

Visit the All Spin Zone for details. Read the story here
at cnn, thanks to Richard from ASZ. Even if you're unable to
contribute, let's all pitch in and help keep this story out there until
Latoyia is found. Kudos to you Richard, and also to Atrios. Both Philly bloggers who wouldn't let this story stay in the shadows.

I hope that other bloggers will pick this one up!

And make sure you read this and this.

Technorati Tag: Latoyia Figueroa