Officials: 3 suspects plead guilty in death of 22-year-old found in abandoned home

EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO/Gray News) - Three out of six suspects accused in the kidnapping, torture and murder of a 22-year-old woman in November of last year have pleaded guilty.

The body of Alishah Pointer was found in the basement of a burned-out abandoned home in East Cleveland on Nov. 9, 2021.

On Tuesday, WOIO reported Nathaniel Poke Jr. pleaded guilty to the charges of involuntary manslaughter, kidnapping and conspiracy.

Last month, two other suspects, 18-year-old Destiny Henderson and 31-year-old Portria Williams, also pleaded guilty. All three have agreed to testify against the other suspects, which include Hakeem Ali Shomo, Brittany Smith and Anthony Bryant, according to WOIO.

Court documents state that suspects Henderson, Williams, Poke Jr. and Shomo drove to a home in East Cleveland and forced two women to get into their car at gunpoint.

Officials said the suspects had the female victims take them to Pointer’s location, where they then lured the 22-year-old into the vehicle.

After they released the first two kidnapping victims, the suspects drove Pointer to Williams’s home and kept her there into the next day, authorities said.

While Pointer was held there, Poke left the home and two other suspects identified as Smith and Bryant arrived, documents said.

Officials said Shomo, Smith and Bryant assaulted Pointer to get information from her related to the death of one of their friends.

Shortly after, Shomo left the home and Henderson, Smith, Williams and Bryant forced Pointer into their car and took her to the abandoned home.

When they got her inside the house, Williams and Bryant fired several shots at Pointer, according to court documents.

Authorities said her body was later found in the abandoned home.

Poke is scheduled to be sentenced on March 27, 2023, with Henderson and Williams on Feb. 6, 2023.

Shomo, Smith and Bryant are being held at the Cuyahoga County Jail while awaiting their trial.

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