Sister of slain teen wants answers

Social media messages claim 18-year-old, friend killed in retaliation

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Nearly a week after the bodies of two young women were discovered along a Northside road, the sister of one shared her grief and quest for justice with News4Jax.

Crystal Moore said she hasn't been able to sleep since her sister's murder and is determined to find out who is responsible for hog-tying 18-year-old Tjhisha Ball naked to her best friend, 19-year-old Angelia Mangum, and dumping their bodies on the side of the road like they were nothing.

The women were found on the Northside, on Sisson Drive near Clark Road last Thursday.

Moore said Ball (pictured below on right) moved to Jacksonville several months ago with Mangum (pictured below on left) and the two quickly found jobs, working as exotic dancers.

In between planning for a funeral, grieving and being frightened that a killer is still on the loose, Moore said she's been trying to filter through a host of social media messages that claim her sister's death could be payback for another crime.

"I just want to know was my baby scared? You know, I just want to know so much stuff," Moore said from her Tampa home on Wednesday. "Somebody named 'Tarzan' Johnson -- he was the one who was killed in (Jacksonville) -- it was supposed to be a set-up. Tjhisha and Angie set this guy up, and they killed him, and the house was burnt down, but I don't see any articles about it."

Angelia Mangum and Tjhisha Ball

News4Jax reported on that incident involving the death of 22-year-old Jatarvis Johnson on Hare Avenue on Sept. 16. At the time, investigators said the Arlington home that was the scene of the fatal shooting was torched intentionally days later.

"Somebody actually sent me messenger through Facebook a screen shot of it and showed me a picture of it in her inbox about – not about the case or anything -- but about, I was scared, asking for someone to come pick her up because someone was trying to kill her," Moore said. "It's a possibility that she could be involved in the case. You know what I'm saying? And she did get away before they got hold of her, too. ... I don't know what to believe. It's just so many thoughts running through my mind."

News4Jax crime and safety expert Gil Smith said the social media connection to this case could bring the big break Moore and the police are looking for.

"Social media has been very helpful to police departments around the country," Smith said. "About 80 percent of departments that use social media, it's been helpful in solving crimes."

Officials with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said because this case is an active, ongoing investigation, they cannot release any new information because it could potentially hinder their progress.

Moore said if someone did kill her sister in retaliation, she has a message for the killer.

"You don't do tit for tat. You know what I'm saying?" Moore said. "They were still too young ladies to die and that's somebody's child as well. … I'm very angry because they were so young."

At 6:15 p.m. Thursday, the local group MAD DADS will be holding a candlelight vigil and neighborhood canvass of the area where the two young women were found.

"As long as murderers are loose in our community, our communities are not going to be safe," said Donald Foy, president of MAD DADS. "One of the reasons we're moving on this, like this, is because they were thrown on the side of the road, and kids could have found them the next morning. That would have had an impact on them for the rest of their life."

Moore said Ball will be laid to rest Saturday in Lakeland. Funeral plans are still being made for Mangum.