Shawanda never really had a chance in life. And then, she was forgotten in death. She would have turned 24 in 2005, but she was a throwaway child, from her earliest days with a drug-abusing mother to her murder. Her remains lay covered by leaves in the Florence area. Nearly eight years later, in March 2002, her scattered remains were found and have shared time since in an evidence box at the Pamlico County Sheriff's Department and at Bryant Funeral Home. Her remains were finally laid to rest in a donated plot in the Cemetery. It took nearly three years for her to be buried. No family members ever came forward to claim her. A fund-raising effort to bury the little girl began by a concerned citizen, Anita Douglas, who contacted the state mortuary board and made funeral arrangements, offering to pay for a coffin and flowers. And Susie Young donated a plot in the Cemetery on Silverbrook Road long ago, and Bryant Funeral Home was good enough to bury at no expense. Her guardians left the area after they reported she had suddenly disappeared in that summer of 1995. Her father was unknown and her mother was a habitual chronic substance abuser who had been in and out of prison, and they weren't able to locate her. Shawanda had attended one year at Pamlico County Middle School while living with her Aunt and Uncle. She received very little love or attention before she died but at her burial, she got both. About 50 people gathered around a tiny casket to pay respects for the 13-year-old who had become known as the forgotten child of Pamlico County. The New Bern Fire Department Honor Guard provided a casket guard.
Shawanda never really had a chance in life. And then, she was forgotten in death. She would have turned 24 in 2005, but she was a throwaway child, from her earliest days with a drug-abusing mother to her murder. Her remains lay covered by leaves in the Florence area. Nearly eight years later, in March 2002, her scattered remains were found and have shared time since in an evidence box at the Pamlico County Sheriff's Department and at Bryant Funeral Home. Her remains were finally laid to rest in a donated plot in the Cemetery. It took nearly three years for her to be buried. No family members ever came forward to claim her. A fund-raising effort to bury the little girl began by a concerned citizen, Anita Douglas, who contacted the state mortuary board and made funeral arrangements, offering to pay for a coffin and flowers. And Susie Young donated a plot in the Cemetery on Silverbrook Road long ago, and Bryant Funeral Home was good enough to bury at no expense. Her guardians left the area after they reported she had suddenly disappeared in that summer of 1995. Her father was unknown and her mother was a habitual chronic substance abuser who had been in and out of prison, and they weren't able to locate her. Shawanda had attended one year at Pamlico County Middle School while living with her Aunt and Uncle. She received very little love or attention before she died but at her burial, she got both. About 50 people gathered around a tiny casket to pay respects for the 13-year-old who had become known as the forgotten child of Pamlico County. The New Bern Fire Department Honor Guard provided a casket guard.
