JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Over the first 36 hours after the 8-year-old was abducted from a Northside Walmart, her first and last name has been spelled several ways. We want to help honor her memory by spelling her name correctly: Cherish Lily Perrywinkle.
Early Saturday morning, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office news releases and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Amber Alert materials spelled her name Charish Perriwinkle.
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Asked later Saturday about the spelling, JSO Public Information Officer Shannon Hartley said he would check it, and later issued a news update on the case and spelled the last name Perrywinkle. Other materials -- including the arrest report of Donald Smith on charges of her kidnapping and murder -- called her Charish Perrywinkle. WJXT/News4Jax.com began spelling the last name with with a "y," but kept the first name the same.
Midday Sunday, after receiving other court documents that spelled her first name Cherish, reporter Vic Micolucci asked the Justice Coalition's Ann Dugger, who was with the victim's mother at the time, and she spelled it Cherish Perrywinkle.
We are in the process of changing all current articles, videos and other materials to reflect the correct spelling. Items already archived from Saturday's coverage will not reflect the change.