This is Michelle Rowling.
Four days before Rowling was killed, she posted an ominous message on her Facebook page.
It is believed that she had recently received news that Cooper was released from jail.
Journalist Goldie Taylor, who grew up in East St. Louis, knew Rowling and her family personally.
… I remember her mother Kathy. We went to jr. high together. Kathy's grandmother ran a "store" out of her house. We bought candy there…
Goldie Taylor
@goldietaylor
… I remember her mother Kathy. We went to jr. high together. Kathy's grandmother ran a "store" out of her house. We bought candy there…
… Our families were extremely close… We lived 3 blocks from each other… Us on 10th, them on 13th…
Goldie Taylor
@goldietaylor
… Our families were extremely close… We lived 3 blocks from each other… Us on 10th, them on 13th…
Taylor linked the tragedy of Rowling's case to the poverty of the area they grew up in.
… East St. Louis has a murder rate 17 times the national average, but you never see it in the national news…
Goldie Taylor
@goldietaylor
… East St. Louis has a murder rate 17 times the national average, but you never see it in the national news…
… the city's police force is half what it should be for a municipality of its size…
Goldie Taylor
@goldietaylor
… the city's police force is half what it should be for a municipality of its size…
… Michelle knew no one was coming, because there was no one to come…
Goldie Taylor
@goldietaylor
… Michelle knew no one was coming, because there was no one to come…
… no domestic violence services, public housing refused to relocate her…
Goldie Taylor
@goldietaylor
… no domestic violence services, public housing refused to relocate her…
Yes. This is about domestic violence. But it is also about abject poverty, environmental degradation, flight of industry, education...
Goldie Taylor
@goldietaylor
Yes. This is about domestic violence. But it is also about abject poverty, environmental degradation, flight of industry, education...