Man Accused of Raping Michigan Teenager Is Now Charged With Killing Her
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Fatmata Corneh, left, mother of Mujey Dumbuya, was comforted during a court hearing for Quinn James last month in Kentwood, Mich. Mr. James, a former school maintenance worker accused of sexually assaulting Mujey, is also charged with her murder.CreditCory Morse/The Grand Rapids Press, via Associated Press
By Matt Stevens
April 11, 2018
A Michigan man who had been released from jail on $100,000 bond while awaiting trial on rape charges murdered the 16-year-old girl who had been expected to testify against him, the authorities said on Wednesday.
The teenager, Mujey Dumbuya, a high school student from Grand Rapids, Mich., was to testify this month at the trial of the man, Quinn Anthony James, who is in his early 40s. But she disappeared in January and was later discovered dead about 50 miles from her home.
In addition to premeditated first-degree murder, Mr. James has also been charged with kidnapping and conspiracy, said Christopher Becker, the prosecuting attorney for Kent County.
Prosecutors have also charged a second man, Gerald Bennett, with one count of conspiracy, Mr. Becker said. They say Mr. Bennett, of Detroit, received a vehicle from Mr. James as payment for assisting with the murder — and possibly the disposal of Mujey’s body.
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In a statement of probable cause made public on Wednesday, prosecutors say forensic testing “ties James to the victim’s clothing.” They also allege that Mr. James “lied to investigators about his whereabouts on the day the victim was taken and killed.”
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Mujey Dumbuya’s body was found in January in Kalamazoo, Mich., about 50 miles from her home in Grand Rapids.
Prosecutors also say they have records placing Mr. James close to Mujey’s home and bus stop the night before she went missing. On the day she went missing, Jan. 24, they say, images show a black GMC Acadia sport utility vehicle near where the body was later found; Mr. James had taken a black Acadia S.U.V. on loan from a dealership that same day, they say.
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A lawyer for Mr. James did not return a telephone message seeking comment on Wednesday. Mr. Becker would not comment on the evidence in the case beyond what was stated in the affidavit.
Court documents allege that Mr. James sexually assaulted Mujey at Ridge Park Charter Academy, a charter school in Kentwood, Mich., last July. Mujey attended East Kentwood High School, about eight miles from Ridge Park.
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Mr. James was employed as a grounds and maintenance crew member with Kentwood Public Schools — of which East Kentwood High is a part — until late last year, the district’s superintendent has said. The school district became aware of the alleged assault in mid-November, the superintendent said, noting that the district investigated the claim and subsequently fired Mr. James.
Mr. James was arrested and charged with criminal sexual conduct in the third degree, but was released in late November or early December on $100,000 bail, Mr. Becker said.
“It’s not an unsubstantial amount,” Mr. Becker said of the bond on Wednesday. “Most people don’t make that. At the time it was issued, that seemed to be a sufficient amount.”
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Quinn James, who is accused of raping and murdering Mujey Dumbuya, during a hearing last month in Kentwood District Court.CreditCory Morse/The Grand Rapids Press, via Associated Press
Mujey had been expected to testify at Mr. James’s trial, which had been scheduled for April 9.
But early on the morning of Jan. 24, prosecutors say, Mujey left her home in Grand Rapids to catch a school bus.
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“She never got on the bus, never went to school, and was never seen again,” prosecutors wrote in the statement of probable cause.
Four days later Mujey’s body was discovered in a wooded area of Kalamazoo, Mich., about 50 miles south of where she had boarded the bus. The Kalamazoo police initially reported Mujey as a possible runaway, but the authorities later labeled the death a homicide by suffocation and strangulation.
On Feb. 1, Mr. James was arrested in Wyoming, Mich., where he lives, in an unrelated case in which he is also accused of sexual offenses against a minor, according to court records. Jail records show that he was booked that day and has since been held at the Kent County jail with bail set at $500,000.
The Associated Press reported, and jail records appear to show, that the bond in the case involving Mujey has been increased to $250,000.
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“When I set the $100,000 bond, Mujey was alive,” Kentwood District Judge William Kelly said last month, according to The A.P.
In a statement on Wednesday, Mujey’s mother, Fatmata Corneh, said she wanted to tell Mr. James: “You have no idea what you have put me and my family through. You broke us into pieces.”
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Fatmata Corneh, left, mother of Mujey Dumbuya, was comforted during a court hearing for Quinn James last month in Kentwood, Mich. Mr. James, a former school maintenance worker accused of sexually assaulting Mujey, is also charged with her murder.CreditCory Morse/The Grand Rapids Press, via Associated Press
By Matt Stevens
April 11, 2018
A Michigan man who had been released from jail on $100,000 bond while awaiting trial on rape charges murdered the 16-year-old girl who had been expected to testify against him, the authorities said on Wednesday.
The teenager, Mujey Dumbuya, a high school student from Grand Rapids, Mich., was to testify this month at the trial of the man, Quinn Anthony James, who is in his early 40s. But she disappeared in January and was later discovered dead about 50 miles from her home.
In addition to premeditated first-degree murder, Mr. James has also been charged with kidnapping and conspiracy, said Christopher Becker, the prosecuting attorney for Kent County.
Prosecutors have also charged a second man, Gerald Bennett, with one count of conspiracy, Mr. Becker said. They say Mr. Bennett, of Detroit, received a vehicle from Mr. James as payment for assisting with the murder — and possibly the disposal of Mujey’s body.
ADVERTISEMENT
In a statement of probable cause made public on Wednesday, prosecutors say forensic testing “ties James to the victim’s clothing.” They also allege that Mr. James “lied to investigators about his whereabouts on the day the victim was taken and killed.”
Image
Mujey Dumbuya’s body was found in January in Kalamazoo, Mich., about 50 miles from her home in Grand Rapids.
Prosecutors also say they have records placing Mr. James close to Mujey’s home and bus stop the night before she went missing. On the day she went missing, Jan. 24, they say, images show a black GMC Acadia sport utility vehicle near where the body was later found; Mr. James had taken a black Acadia S.U.V. on loan from a dealership that same day, they say.
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A lawyer for Mr. James did not return a telephone message seeking comment on Wednesday. Mr. Becker would not comment on the evidence in the case beyond what was stated in the affidavit.
Court documents allege that Mr. James sexually assaulted Mujey at Ridge Park Charter Academy, a charter school in Kentwood, Mich., last July. Mujey attended East Kentwood High School, about eight miles from Ridge Park.
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Mr. James was employed as a grounds and maintenance crew member with Kentwood Public Schools — of which East Kentwood High is a part — until late last year, the district’s superintendent has said. The school district became aware of the alleged assault in mid-November, the superintendent said, noting that the district investigated the claim and subsequently fired Mr. James.
Mr. James was arrested and charged with criminal sexual conduct in the third degree, but was released in late November or early December on $100,000 bail, Mr. Becker said.
“It’s not an unsubstantial amount,” Mr. Becker said of the bond on Wednesday. “Most people don’t make that. At the time it was issued, that seemed to be a sufficient amount.”
Image
Quinn James, who is accused of raping and murdering Mujey Dumbuya, during a hearing last month in Kentwood District Court.CreditCory Morse/The Grand Rapids Press, via Associated Press
Mujey had been expected to testify at Mr. James’s trial, which had been scheduled for April 9.
But early on the morning of Jan. 24, prosecutors say, Mujey left her home in Grand Rapids to catch a school bus.
ADVERTISEMENT
“She never got on the bus, never went to school, and was never seen again,” prosecutors wrote in the statement of probable cause.
Four days later Mujey’s body was discovered in a wooded area of Kalamazoo, Mich., about 50 miles south of where she had boarded the bus. The Kalamazoo police initially reported Mujey as a possible runaway, but the authorities later labeled the death a homicide by suffocation and strangulation.
On Feb. 1, Mr. James was arrested in Wyoming, Mich., where he lives, in an unrelated case in which he is also accused of sexual offenses against a minor, according to court records. Jail records show that he was booked that day and has since been held at the Kent County jail with bail set at $500,000.
The Associated Press reported, and jail records appear to show, that the bond in the case involving Mujey has been increased to $250,000.
ADVERTISEMENT
“When I set the $100,000 bond, Mujey was alive,” Kentwood District Judge William Kelly said last month, according to The A.P.
In a statement on Wednesday, Mujey’s mother, Fatmata Corneh, said she wanted to tell Mr. James: “You have no idea what you have put me and my family through. You broke us into pieces.”
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