Spokesman for Slain Girl’s Mother Quits

The spokesman for the mother of the girl slain last year in a Nevada casino denounced the girl’s parents Thursday, saying they were more interested in money than justice.

Community activist Najee Ali said he would no longer act as the spokesman for Yolanda Manuel, mother of Sherrice Iverson, the 7-year-old who was sexually assaulted and strangled in a casino restroom.

“Yolanda wants to make money off her child’s death,” said Ali, standing by Sherrice’s grave. “For Yolanda, this case isn’t about justice anymore, it’s about money.”

In a news conference, Ali asked authorities to reopen an investigation of Leroy Iverson, Sherrice’s father, and to consider charging him with child endangerment and neglect. Thursday’s graveside news conference, which included a written statement from Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, marked the first time that members of the black community have taken Iverson to task.

“Gambling was more important to Leroy Iverson than protecting his own daughter; Leroy Iverson should be held accountable in his daughter’s death,” said Ali, who gained the spotlight nationally when he spearheaded a movement to pass a Good Samaritan law making it a crime to witness an assault against a minor and not intercede.

Manuel and Winston Kevin McKesson, Leroy Iverson’s attorney, said the casino was to blame for the girl’s death because security was lax. Manuel and Iverson have each filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the casino, now known as the Primm Valley Resort & Casino. They have also filed against the Long Beach teenager, Jeremy Strohmeyer, who pleaded guilty earlier this month to the kidnapping, sexual assault and murder of Sherrice.

“I’m out for justice--money would never bring my child back to me,” Manuel said. “I’m not money hungry. I been suffering all my life; money don’t make me happy; money ain’t gonna stop me from laying down and thinking about my child.”

Manuel said she felt betrayed by Ali, who had stood by her side through numerous news conferences. It was a sentiment that Ali, in turn, expressed toward her Thursday.

McKesson, Iverson’s attorney, sought to rise above the fray and highlight the role of the casino. He pointed out that on the night of Sherrice’s slaying, between “25 and 45” children were in the arcade--an indication that other parents thought the facility was safe.

“Mr. Iverson is an excellent parent,” said McKesson, speaking on behalf of his client, who has been hospitalized because of a diabetes-related complication. “This is none of Mr. Ali’s business. If he is so concerned about who gets prosecuted, he should attend law school, take the bar and apply for a job at the district attorney’s office.”

Manuel has consistently avoided blaming Leroy Iverson for the death of Sherrice, who spent the evening and early morning hours with her 14-year-old half-brother in the arcade of the former Primadonna Resort & Casino as her father played the slot machines. The little girl dashed into the ladies’ restroom just before 4 a.m. and Strohmeyer followed her.

In the days after Sherrice’s death, many people expressed shock and dismay that a parent would leave a child in an arcade at such an hour.

Public outrage reached the boiling point when a casino official said that Iverson, shortly after learning of his daughter’s death, asked for $100, a hotel room, a plane ticket, money for his daughter’s funeral and a six-pack of beer. (Iverson has also sued the casino for slander, saying he had been defamed.)

Ali, founder of Project Islamic HOPE, a humanitarian and advocacy organization, observed that casino security guards escorted Sherrice to her father on three different occasions during the night that she was killed.

“We want to send a strong message to the father of Sherrice Iverson that he must accept some responsibility,” said Kahlid Shah, executive director of Stop the Violence, Increase the Peace Foundation.

Other voices agreed.

Sherrice “was an innocent 7-year-old child who was failed by a negligent father who took her to the casino at 4 in the morning and refused to look after her, even after three warnings from casino security,” said Councilman Ridley-Thomas in a prepared statement at the news conference.

In the days after Sherrice’s death, the Las Vegas district attorney declined to charge Leroy Iverson with child neglect. The district attorney’s office did not return calls Thursday.