Woman's disappearance spotlights the lack of national media attention on missing women of color

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When Tamika Huston vanished, a way of grounds led South Carolina investigators connected a yearlong hunt to find her. Their discoveries would uncover a shocking execution and unexpected killer, but Huston's communicative would spotlight concerns faced by families of missing women of colour and the deficiency of nationalist media attraction fixed to their cases.

"I was shocked due to the fact that I volition archer you, I deliberation I was precise naive to what was going to hap here," Rebkah Howard, Huston's aunt who is besides a nationalist relations specialist, reflected successful a caller "20/20" interrogation astir the case. "It was met with deaf ears. No 1 was truly listening to me."

Tamika Huston was a 24-year-old sister, daughter, niece and friend. Her household reported her missing to Spartanburg, South Carolina, constabulary connected June 14th, 2004.

When the 24-year-old Huston went missing successful May 2004, her household was definite her lawsuit would garner nationalist media attention. Stories of missing achromatic women, similar Lori Hacking oregon Laci Peterson, dominated the quality cycle, but not those of women of colour similar Huston.

A caller "20/20" airing Friday, September 27, connected ABC and streaming the adjacent time connected Hulu, features caller interviews with Huston's loved ones and investigators who worked the case.

Howard remembered the time she reported her niece missing, aft realizing neither she nor Huston's mother, Gabby, heard from her. Howard informed Spartanburg Police, who rapidly dispatched to Huston's residence.

Police recovered thing antithetic extracurricular the home. Huston's car was gone, and officers initially believed Huston had gone connected a trip. But a person look by investigators showed a much disturbing scene.

Huston's beloved dog, Macy, had fixed commencement to a litter of puppies, astir of which had died successful the bare home. Macy was recovered emaciated and struggling to survive. Her h2o and nutrient bowls were empty. Police noted the canine drank each the h2o from the toilet, which to them indicated Tamika was missing for a important magnitude of time.

Huston's ex-boyfriend, Terence Moss, who came guardant to connection his assistance successful the investigation, became the police's archetypal idiosyncratic of interest.

"You're lone frightened of the constabulary erstwhile you've done thing wrong. I didn't bash thing wrong," Moss told "20/20" Co-Anchor Deborah Roberts. "I told them everything."

Police yet cleared Moss of suspicion.

Terence Moss, Huston's ex-boyfriend, speaks successful a "20/20" interrogation with Co-Anchor Deborah Roberts. The mates lived unneurotic and broke up 3 months earlier her disappearance.

About a week aft she was reported missing, Huston's car was recovered abandoned astatine an flat complex.

"It was a stressful moment... we were benignant of stuck for a small while," Spartanburg Police Maj. Steve Lamb, who oversaw the probe into Huston's disappearance, said astir the deficiency of important forensic grounds collected from the car.

One portion of grounds recovered successful her car, however, would unlock a treasure trove of clues: a acceptable of keys - ones that investigators said didn't lucifer Huston's car, location oregon adjacent beryllium to her. One cardinal had a mysterious engraving, "AA14." Luckily, 1 locksmith who worked successful the municipality for decades was capable to lucifer the unsocial engraving.

"It was a codification that helium recognized that helium had created," Lamb said. "It was his ain small coding system, truthful helium knew helium had made that key."

The cardinal belonged to the Freemont School Apartments and constabulary were yet capable to hint that cardinal to an flat antecedently occupied by Christopher Hampton.

Huston's household told investigators they weren't acquainted with anyone by that name.

Zelda Teamer, Huston's champion friend, recalled gathering Hampton 1 time. She said Huston brought Hampton on during a casual sojourn to her location successful 2004.

"He was benignant of standoffish," Teamer told "20/20" astir the encounter. "I'm like, 'Where did helium travel from?' She was like, 'Oh, he's conscionable my friend.'"

This brushwood was the past clip Teamer saw her person alive.

Investigators learned Huston lone precocious started dating Hampton earlier she went missing. At the clip of her disappearance, Hampton was connected parole for a slope robbery.

Authorities questioned Hampton successful December 2004, erstwhile helium denied having immoderate cognition of Huston's whereabouts oregon the circumstances surrounding her disappearance.

In January 2005, Spartanburg Police conducted a hunt of Hampton's aged Freemont School apartment.

Spartanburg Police Major Steve Lamb speaks with "20/20" Co-Anchor Deborah Roberts extracurricular the Freemont School Apartments, wherever Christopher Hampton lived astatine the clip of Tamika Huston's disappearance.

Blood stains, doused with cleaning supplies, were recovered connected the chamber carpet. The humor was tested and came backmost arsenic a affirmative lucifer to Huston.

"The investigators recovered a truly large bleach stain, which is Latin for, 'I'm covering thing up,'" Trey Gowdy, the Spartanburg Solicitor astatine the time, said.

Nearly a twelvemonth aft she disappeared, her lawsuit was featured connected the transgression amusement "America's Most Wanted," mostly owed to the persistence of Howard and writer Tiffany D. Cross, past a young AMW shaper who was drawn to the lawsuit due to the fact that Tamika looked similar her.

"In the aboriginal 2000s, determination was a batch of missing achromatic women that got outsized attention, and it was precise frustrating to beryllium a Black pistillate moving successful newsrooms," Cross told "20/20" astir the disparity successful missing persons coverage. "It didn't enactment that mode for the magnitude of missing Black people."

The nationalist media attraction prompted an anonymous 15-year-old caller to travel guardant with her relationship astir being successful Hampton's flat and noticing a suspicious stain connected the level and a dresser blocking a closet door.

Police besides received a important portion of grounds from Hampton's ex-girlfriend and the parent of his kid successful June 2005. She said that Hampton mailed her his wallet for safekeeping erstwhile helium was sent backmost to jailhouse for a parole usurpation related to an earlier slope robbery conviction. The ex-girlfriend said she recovered a photograph successful Hampton's wallet that had a spot of humor and turned it implicit to police. Tests revealed the humor matched positively to Huston.

With authorities acceptable to complaint him with murder, Hampton yet revealed to constabulary what helium says happened to Huston. He told investigators the 2 got into a heated statement implicit money, erstwhile helium swung and deed her connected the caput with an iron. He enactment her assemblage successful his closet and closed it shut, barricading it with a chamber dresser. Hampton would past hide Huston successful a shallow sedate aboriginal the adjacent morning.

In August 2005, Hampton led authorities to Huston's burial site, a wooded country disconnected Tyger River Drive successful Duncan, South Carolina.

"It was conscionable maine and my dada erstwhile we recovered out," Huston's younger sister Antonia told "20/20." "I conscionable retrieve him screaming to the apical of his lungs, and past that's erstwhile I knew my sister was ne'er coming back."

Hampton pleaded blameworthy to execution and was sentenced to beingness successful situation and is presently incarcerated astatine the Tyger River Correctional Institution successful South Carolina.

Huston's death, and the deficiency of nationalist media sum astir her disappearance, helped pb to the instauration of the Black and Missing Foundation, a nonprofit that seeks to bring consciousness to missing persons of color. Howard joined the organization's Board of Directors arsenic a mode to proceed her advocacy successful representation of her niece.

Actor and activistic Erika Alexander, who created the award-winning "Finding Tamika" audio series, spoke astir the lawsuit with "20/20" Co-Anchor Deborah Roberts.

Actor and activistic Erika Alexander, champion known for her starring relation successful the 1990's sitcom "Living Single," created "Finding Tamika," an award-winning audio bid highlighting the case. She told "20/20" that, due to the fact that of Huston's story, "we are looking for Black and Brown girls."

"I cognize however overmuch Black girls don't matter," Alexander said, "and I privation to ever beryllium a reflection of however overmuch worth that they had to me...so of people she mattered to me."

To this day, those who knew and loved Huston accidental determination is simply a conflict to get stories of women of colour noticed.

"After each this, it's been 20 years. To person radical inactive funny successful her and benignant of usage her communicative arsenic a mode to bespeak connected the larger issue, it means a lot," Howard said. "I americium grateful that radical are inactive funny successful Tamika and are drawn to her. She was an unthinkable young woman."

Watch an all-new "20/20" airing Friday, Sept. 27, connected ABC and streaming the adjacent time connected Hulu.