LaToyia Figueroa
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LaToyia Figueroa (January 26, 1981 – August 2005) was a American woman of Black and Hispanic descent who was reported missing on July 18, 2005, and later found strangled to death. Figueroa, who was five months pregnant at the time, was reported missing after she failed to show up to work.
Police discovered Figueroa's remains in a grassy, partially wooded lot in Chester, Pennsylvania, located 13 miles south of Philadelphia. They arrested Stephen Poaches, the father of her unborn child, on August 20, more than a month after she was reported missing [1]. On October 17, 2006, Poaches was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Figueroa and her fetus [2].
The disappearance of Figueroa sparked controversy about media coverage because cable news channels, such as CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News Channel, neglected to cover her story in favor of Natalee Holloway, a Caucasian teen missing on the island of Aruba. Some observers protested that Figueroa's case was similar to the Laci Peterson case and thus deserved greater attention, implying that race was a factor in the lack of coverage. Her family and friends pressured the news media to cover her case, and succeeded.
[edit] Details of the case
The Figueroa case bears a similarity to the case of Laci Peterson, who was found dead and whose husband, Scott, was found guilty of her murder. The Peterson case was covered heavily throughout 2004 and led to public consensus that Scott Peterson was guilty of the murder.
Figueroa's family stated that the lack of media coverage of her disappearance only brought more tragedy to an already troubled search. Figueroa's mother, Ann Taylor, was gunned down when LaToyia was a toddler. Figueroa had a seven-year-old daughter. Joseph Taylor, Figueroa's uncle and family spokesman, has actively criticized the media. America's Most Wanted and the Philadelphia Citizen Crime Commission teamed up with police to aid in the search. While in prison, rapper Beanie Sigel offered $100,000 of his own earnings to help the family.
[edit] Missing White Woman Syndrome
The disappearance of Figueroa has spawned controversy about media coverage of missing people and how cases get national attention. "Missing White Women Syndrome," as described by journalist Gwen Ifill, has drawn attention to the neglect of missing non-white people. Conservative pundit Michelle Malkin also describes this phenomenon as "Missing Pretty Girl Syndrome." Media critics say that major news outlets are guilty of ignoring Figueroa and other missing-persons cases in favor of cases involving attractive young white women. Most media outlets in Philadelphia have been helping the Figueroa family, and Internet bloggers have pressured cable news networks to give coverage equal to that given to Natalee Holloway and Jennifer Wilbanks; they succeeded in gaining attention to Figueroa's disappearance from CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News Channel.
