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Six Charged In Cleveland ‘Ransom’ Torture-Killing Of Woman As Revenge For Previous Killing

The group was indicted for aggravated murder and conspiracy.

Six people accused of kidnapping, torturing and killing a woman in Cleveland have reportedly been charged with aggravated murder and conspiracy.

According to Cleveland.com, Cuyahoga County, Ohio prosecutors say the group targeted Alishah Pointer as ransom to get information about her boyfriend. The accused allegedly suspected that the boyfriend was involved in the killing of the brother of one of the six.

Hakim-Ali Shomo, Portria Williams, Destiny Henderson, Nathaniel Poke, Anthony Bryant and Brittany Smith have each been charged with several new criminal counts of aggravated murder, murder, conspiracy, kidnapping and felonious assault in Pointer’s November 4, 2021 death.

East Cleveland police say Pointer had information related to a crime in the city and was abducted days before her death. In November, the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner said Pointer died from gunshot wounds.

RELATED: Four Suspects Arraigned In Slaying Of Cleveland-Area Woman Believed To Be Killed in Revenge Plot

Investigators believe that Pointer, who lived in North Randall, Ohio, a Cleveland suburb, was lured from her home by two women who themselves were kidnapped and held at gunpoint, according to local station WEWS.

Pointer, they say, was then kidnapped and later tortured for information on the whereabouts of her boyfriend to seek revenge for the November 2 slaying of Aminjas Shomo, 19. Authorities believe Pointer had nothing to do with that slaying and it has not been determined if her boyfriend did either.

Within days of Pointer’s death, Shomo, 31, Williams, 31, Poke, 32, Henderson, 18, and Bryant, 19 were charged with aggravated murder and kidnapping. Henderson was 17 at the time of the killing and is being prosecuted as an adult.

According to the indictment, the group kept Pointer at a house on the city’s east side for several hours. Smith wrapped Pointer’s face in clear tape and threatened to use a syringe on her to get her to tell them where her boyfriend was. Shomo allegedly stuck a pistol in Pointer’s mouth, then shared a photo on social media to try to get her boyfriend to reveal his location.

The indictment says that after Shomo left, Henderson, Smith, Williams and Bryant forced Pointer into a car at gunpoint and then drove her to an abandoned home in East Cleveland and continued torturing her.

After more than 20 hours, prosecutors claim Williams, Bryant and Henderson pulled guns on Pointer and pulled the triggers. The four then left the abandoned house and went to Shomo’s home. East Cleveland police and FBI agents eventually discovered Pointer’s body on November 9.

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