Saturday, January 3, 2009

Annshalike Hamilton's Online Life (EXCLUSIVE JOHNNY NORTHSIDE BLOG CONTENT)

Image From Annshalike's "Black Planet"
profile, photographer unknown


Annshalike Hamilton--now widely known as the 15-year-old girl, 7 months pregnant, whose frozen body was found in a garage at 2222 4th St. N., killed by blunt force injury, had a rather interesting "on line" life...


Besides her "photo bucket account," where she deposited some images, Annshalike was known to be periodically active on these sites:

1.) Black planet dot com, where Annshalike had the user name "chrisbabygurl_2"

2.) My Ghetto Dot Com, where Annshalike used her own unique name, "Annshalike."

3.) My Space Dot Com, where she used a rather long and colorful user name: "dat sexii yung red bone a.k.a. da realest bitch eva."

Notably, on each of the three sites listed above, Annshalike claimed to be 17 years old. On Black Planet, Hamilton listed her home as "Minneapolis." On My Ghetto, Hamilton listed her home as "murderapolis."

However, on My Space, she listed her home as "St. Paul."

Yes, I Have A Man

Like many teenagers attempting to "construct an identity," Annshalike appears to have jazzed up her ancestry, just a bit. She lists her ethnicity as "mixed" on "My Ghetto." But on Black Planet, she lists her race as "Black, Native American, and White" but then also lists her ethnicity as "Puerto Rican." Individuals who knew Annshalike and commented on this blog described her as simply the child of a white mother and a black father; no mention of Puerto Rican or Native American relatives.

On each of these websites, Annshalike Hamilton, who relatives have described as a "straight A student" at Patrick Henry High School, wrote in a thick, seemingly-affected "ghetto accent," mostly innocent of spelling and grammar rules. Here is what Annshalike (chrisbabygurl_2) wrote on Black Planet, all in caps:

"WAZ GOOD WIT DA PEOPLE ON BLACK PLANET. I DON'T BE ON DIS THING LIKE DAT BUT U CAN LEAVE YA GURL A NOTE OR SOMETHING AND I WILL GET BACK AT U ASAP YA DIG. YES I HAVE A MAN I GUESS THAT'S WHY ME SCREEN NAME IS WHAT IT IS BUT YEA 2 ALL YALL HATERS STOP HATING OR GET DA FUKK OFF MY PAGE U DIG. YEAH EVERY BODY IN MY FAMILY INCLUDING ME RUNS UNDER DA 5 POINT STAR. BUT MY CUZIN RUN UNDER DA SIX POINT STAR AND MY MAN DO 2."

(Paragraph break not in original text)

"IM ON HERE LOOKIN 4 SOMEBODY 2 TALK 2 MAYBE MORE IN DA FUTURE. BUT FOR RIGHT NOW IM HAPPY IN MY RELATIONSHIP THAT I AM INMY RELATIONSHIP HAS BEEN GOING GREAT 4 ME SO FAR AND THATS THE WAY I WANT 2 KEEP IT YA DIG WAIT IM SAYING DON'T BREAK UP MY HAPPY HOME OR IT WILL BE TROUBLE 4 YALL BYTCHS YA DIG BUT YEA I LOVE MY MAN 2 DEATH AND WOULD DO ANY THING 2 MAKE HIM HAPPY ARE SMILE."

(Paragraph break not in orginal text)

"BUT YEA DROP YO GURL A NOTE OR SOMETHING AND I'LL GET BACK AT U ASAP!! OHH AND 4 EVERYONE THAT WANTS 2 SEE MY PIC GO TO MYSPACE PAGE HAMILTONANNSHALIKE@YAHOO.COM."

Hamilton last logged in to Black Planet on August 22, 2008. So if Annshalike was 6-7 months pregnant in early November, when she disappeared, that would mean she was still pregnant when she wrote about being happy in her relationship, and warned "BYTCHS" not to break up her "HAPPY HOME."

On the site called "My Ghetto Dot Com," Annshalike wrote a shorter message, but of a similar character, not completely in caps, as follows:

"Wassup wit ya dis ya gurl Annshalike a.k.a. Le-Le. A lil about myself is i'm 5'5ft. and I weigh 130 lbs. light skinned red bone thick as hell an azz on me light brown eyez, dark brown hair long hair, stay geared up wit new shoes, clothes, keeps my hair done, sexy body and a sexy face. I'm down to earth gurl. I have a great personality. I'm nice but can be mean and snap sometimes."

(Paragraph break not in original text)

"I'm sweet hood person to be around. yea im single 4 right now...bcuz niggas be on dem games and dat bullshit...so im lookin 4 a man dat don't be on no games or dat bullshit 4 real..if u feel dis hit me up!!"

Further information listed on the site included Annshalike failing to answer the site's question about "orientation" (listed as "No Answer") though she described her body type as "athletic" and, for an occupation, wrote "duffle bag gurl."

Under her general interests, Annshalike wrote, "I like to chill at da crib or 2 da mall. Chillin it wit my man, da homey. Goin out of town to da Chi-town or Memphis, Tenn. or any where out of town u kno. But I like 2 listen 2 music, watch movies n goin 2 da movies, and just chillin wit da familuy and talking on my cell phone, and shit but if yall want 2 kno more hit me up wit a note or something u kno."

Clues From Her Last Logins

It is notable that Annshalike's last login to My Ghetto was August 20, 2008, especially when compared to her last login to Black Planet: August 22, 2008. Annshalike managed to login to My Space a bit later: October 23, 2008. Here is the message associated with her profile on MySpace:

"Ya'll gotta kno dis year is dis year to get on ya job 4 real...So all ya haters get a new jobs because ya old 1 an't workin anymore! Hoes gotta kno dis year im back on top of my shit 24/7 so hoes watch out i mite just take ya man!!!"

Many teens, 20s males as online friends

Each of these websites presents socialization opportunities and, in listing contacts, Annshalike reveals an extensive social network. Some of these individuals may have been simply "online" friends, other listed profiles may represent real-world contacts.

Some of Annshalike's contacts on Black Planet included "shorty_blaze_07," age 20, from Minneapolis, rone88, 20, Minneapolis, Mt_city09, 17, St. Paul, YoungSmoker_23, age 21, Minneapolis.

Many of their profiles include graphic content, including--in one instance, on the profile "8inride"--a realistic color cartoon of a man having anal sex with a female. For a profile photo, the user shows only his tight abdominal region. The profiles are filled with comments about "bitches" and "hoes." A common theme emerges that ugly and/or demanding women need not waste the valuable time of these "gangstas" who are "all about (their) money."

There are some minor positive aspects to the "Black Planet" site, with profiles listed of African-Americans prominent in American history, but, generally, neither Black Planet nor My Ghetto Dot Com is a place I'd want a 15-year-old daughter to spend any amount of time. In fact, I don't think I'd want a 15-year-old son to be there.

But I'm there. I'm there because it is possible answers about the murder of Annshalike Hamilton and her unborn baby girl can be found somewhere in these extensive online social networks.

Nothing Exclusive, Just Data Aggregation

I should note this blog post is only possible because of anonymous commenters who used search engines to dig up Annshalike's online social networks. (Though I did find her "Photo Bucket" on my own) I didn't do any magic, here, and I appreciate the tips. Please, keep the tips coming.

Anybody can go to Annshalike's online profiles--conveniently linked from this blog post--and seek their own insights about her life. But blog posts like this one are necessary to "aggregate data" and efficiently disseminate information. Not everybody has the time or inclination to go to the social network sites of a tragically-dead teen, looking for clues. So aggregating this data ramps up the speed of the data, and causes more information to come loose.

That's part of the idea behind this whole blog: let us share the information and stories of our North Minneapolis civilization, to revitalize that civilization. A murder like this is, unfortunately, bad publicity. But what can we do? We must deal with it. We must arrest the murder(s) and, I believe, tear down the long-decrepit house and garage at 2222 4th St. N.

And, I might add, if this is the messed up, crazy life of a "straight A student" at Patrick Henry, then it might be time to start worrying a whole lot about the rest of the "straight A students" at Patrick Henry.

Memorial Service Announced On My Space

One of Annshalike's friends has set up a "memorial" MySpace page, click here for a link.


The page states there will be a service for Annshalike Hamilton (and, presumably, her child) at 11:00 a.m, January 10, at 2507 Bryant Ave. N. This address corresponds to the Church of St. Philip, a Catholic Church.

Who Is The Father? (This Is Pure Speculation)

A story in the Star Tribune reported speculation by one of Annshalike's friends that Annshalike's baby was fathered by a married man, a guy who was--according to Annshalike--"trouble."

However, consider this speculative theory: Annshalike was lying about the identity of the father of her baby. There is no "married man." The father of her baby is one and the same as her boyfriend, and she made up the "married man" story because she wanted to keep her boyfriend out of trouble.

Honestly, what 15-year-old manages to keep such a big secret? The true identity of the father of her baby? She kept that a SECRET? A 15-year-old girl managed to keep this a secret, from EVERYBODY? Oh, sure, I can believe she hid things from her PARENTS. But I find it hard to believe she didn't tell SOMEBODY.

To use the expression of a high-ranking policeman in the Fourth Precinct: stranger things have happened. But I doubt it. I think there's a simpler explanation: Annshalike lied. She lied to keep her boyfriend from getting arrested. She didn't want to give up her relationship with her boyfriend, but she also needed to avoid having the obvious suspect in the pregnancy--her boyfriend--arrested for statutory rape.

So she lied. She made up a third party, a married man who was "trouble." And she maintained that lie, consistently, just like she consistently claimed to be "17" on social networking sites when she was actually--good lord--only 15.

If you want to find the father of Annshalike's baby...look first to her boyfriend, I say, not to some fictional "married man." But what does it matter? DNA will tell the cold tale. It doesn't matter what lies are told. DNA will trump everything.

The only real questions are this: are Annshalike's friends telling the police the truth, or do they feel some kind of "duty" to maintain fictions? Does the boyfriend have these friends brainwashed to believe he is innocent, and they must protect him from being "framed?"

Just who is this boyfriend? What is his real name? What does he look like? Who is the guy in the photo, above? Is that the boyfriend? Or is that somebody else? Anybody who has information or even speculation...the comment threads are open, pending only blogmaster approval, which usually happens the same day.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

What worries me is that you are trying to tarnish the girls memory..Let those dead rest in peace. As you say DNA will reveal the truth and so will the police investigation. Yes it is a tragedy that our teens are socializing online and in real life the way they are..but we also need to keep in mind that the times have changed and slang and being a teen is different from when we were young. not to say that this makes things right but we also need to realize that there is a difference in teen culture and how they interact with one another..this should not be indicative of their whole lives and interactions with others..she may have well been an "A" student who used colorful language..does she deserve to die? No, I think you should focus more on the crime and its immorality than trying to tear down this girl.

Johnny Northside said...

I am not trying to tarnish the girl's memory. I'm trying to keep this story fresh on the public radar, which will be helpful in finding the killer.

Furthermore, Annshalike is now what you might call a "cautionary tale." Like you said, "it is a tragedy that our teens are socializing online and in real life the way they are." Well, the story needs to be told to prevent more tragedies.

It's too late for Anshalike. It may not be too late for some other parent who finds their teen socializing on, good grief, "My Ghetto Dot Com."

I feel for these parents, and god cradle the soul of this young little mother and her child...but when Annshalike started embracing "thug culture" and dating some "gangster," she made a fatal mistake.

I've never been one to "sugar coat things." I didn't make up what she wrote on those sites. Those are her words and those words speak loudly for themselves. Every parent whose kid is doing similar stuff on similar sites should be worried as hell.

Anonymous said...

As a former Patrick Henry HS teacher, a few things are apparent to me:
- Her online comments are not average teen slang; they are the dialect of gangsters from generational poverty;
- She references "running under the 5-point star" and being a "duffle bag gurl" - this is not what straight-A students do after school;
- The habit of building up our young dead as if they are "innocent victims" and their own actions did not contribute to their death is, I think, one that enables the violence to continue. (That includes her family painting her as a "straight-A student." Please.) We, as a community, need to look seriously at why we condone that.

I am reading this blog and paying attention to this child's death because of what her life must have been like in order to end this way. That our children ever get into situations like that is cause for significant community reflection. I am pondering daily what you & I could have done to help prevent this.

Thank you JohnnyNorthside, and everyone who has commented here, for not being afraid to speak up. That's what it takes to build a strong community: communication, not fear.

Anonymous said...

This story has affected me more than any other story. I think about her so much. I have a 14 year old at Cooper. We live on in a decent neighborhood, but the kids have no parental supervision some into the late night hours...Scary!! Good kids unsupervised. How could anyone say you are tarnishing anything...for god sake...you are the only one keeping the story alive. I am a big fan of Crime shows, Forensic Files and The First 48 are the best, I have been taught many things just from watching. The boy didn't do it. Just a thought. Who are the "Hoes" that she was talking about? Why would a "straight A student" be gone for a week, not at school, not at home, she's 15 that is not normal. I am so concerned about the Hush Hush involved. Was she pregnant by some polition? Teacher? What is it?????? What was the outcome of the DNA test? Where can I visit her body? All of these things are unanswered, why? God has her now, she's safe.