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FAMU Student Journalist Slain; Police Suspect Murder-Suicide

By Sidney Wright IV
Black College Wire

Photo credit: The Famuan Nefertiti Nicole Williams was "a hard-working, down-to-earth and overall genuine person."

Her death hit the staff of the Famuan, where she was the news editor, extremely hard. It was my job, as editor-in- chief, to inform the staff.

The student's body was found upstairs in her bedroom. The body of Shundavian Marquis Brooks, 20, the apparent assailant, was found downstairs with the alleged murder weapon at his side, Leon County sheriff's deputies said.

Friends called police when Williams failed to show up for a Thanksgiving gathering in her hometown of Bradenton, Fla., just outside Tampa.

According to Maj. Mike Wood of the sheriff's office, deputies believe Brooks killed Williams with a single gunshot wound to the head, then shot himself several hours later.

Williams was found in her bed on the top floor of the home, which she shared with four others, including Brooks about 10 miles from the FAMU campus. She is believed to have died 10 to 24 hours before her body was found.

Brooks was found on the first floor of the home. He is believed to have died four to six hours before his body was found. A pistol believed to be his was found next to him.

Not as much was known about Brooks. The Tallahassee Democrat wrote, "At 20, he was still trying to figure out what he wanted to do with his life, while Nefertiti Williams, one of his closest friends since childhood and a roommate, seemed to be hitting her stride as an editor at the campus newspaper and as a modeling troupe member."

Throughout the course of this semester and last, Nefertiti covered a variety of hard-hitting and investigative pieces. She and her deputy editor, Nicole Bardo-Colon, wrote about student candidates violating copyright laws by using logos and slogans from major corporations for their campaigns.

She also covered the university revoking the housing scholarships of ROTC students who were not aware they had to maintain a certain GPA, and therefore were surprised when they were told they would not receive funding for housing the following semester. She was also one of the editors who covered the trial earlier this semester of Kappa Alpha Psi members accused of hazing.

I had the job of informing my staff members of Nefertiti's death before they had to hear about it through rumors and gossip. It hit especially hard because of the kind of person Nefertiti was. The Famuan is a family, and she was a major part of it.

Her coworkers would describe her as a hard-working, down-to-earth and an overall genuine person. She never had a problem telling you what she was feeling. Nefertiti was kind of the clown of the group. She knew how to make people laugh, and was an overall pleasant person to be around.

More than anything, Nefertiti was about business. Business had to be taken care of before it was time to play. I believe that's what her coworkers admired most about her. She knew how to balance. She was the most hard-working person in the newsroom when we were in a time crunch, but when it was time to let our hair down and hang out, she was the person you wanted to be there.

Nefertiti was in her junior year. She was in the process of applying for summer newspaper internships.

I am not entirely sure why Nefertiti chose to come to Florida A&M University, but I am thankful she did. My life has been made all the richer by knowing her.

A "grief and grieving" session was to be conducted for the Famuan staff on Nov. 27, with the Rev. Maria Mallory White facilitating, a former adviser to the Famuan. A memorial service is planned for Nov. 28 at FAMU.

Sidney Wright IV, a student at Florida A&M University, is editor-in-chief of the Famuan. He may be reached at [email protected].

Posted Nov. 26, 2006