Mykaella Elizabeth Sharlman's family opens up about her death
Sharlman was allegedly mutilated and burned by two men in Antioch, California, but prosecutors dropped the charges because of a racist and homophobic texting scandal in the police department. CREDIT: DeAnna Dee Shipman/D'Lightful Creations.
Two men charged with burning a Black woman's body in California are free because of the Antioch police's bigoted text scandal that resulted in suspensions for almost half the department.
Charges against Ashton Montalvo and Deangelo Boone, who were accused of throwing 25-year-old Mykaella Elizabeth Sharlman's body in the trash and setting it on fire last October, were dropped because several police officers that worked the case were embroiled in the scandal.
The Contra Costa District Attorney's Office said the prosecution "relied heavily" on the investigative work of police officers associated with racist texts.
"After thoroughly reviewing the officers’ role in this case, applying relevant legal principles and considering ethical responsibilities, the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office no longer has confidence in the integrity of this prosecution," the DA's office said in a statement. "Our office extends our deepest sympathies to the family of Mykaella Sharlman, and we aspire to renew this prosecution if presented with the opportunity to do so. "
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Mykaella Elizabeth Sharlman was allegedly mutilated and burned by two men in California, but prosecutors dropped the case because of a scandal in the Antioch Police Department. (Nicole Eason/Facebook)
Sharlman died from a fentanyl overdose in mid-October 2022, according to authorities, and Montalvo and Boone allegedly found her on a walking trail on Oct. 17, 2022, and set her body on fire. They pleaded not guilty to charges of mutilation and arson.
Sharlman's family released an emotional video on Facebook last week in which they talked about her and the devastating toll her death took on them.
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"My mom walked into the funeral and had to see a shell of a body, charred with half of a face, and that was the last image we saw in our head of what we once knew was our sister, our daughter, our cousin, our aunt," Sharlman's sister, Nicole Eason, said through tears. "There was nothing left that resembled Mykaella Elizabeth Sharlman."
The bigoted text scandal
The FBI and Contra Costa County DA released a redacted report on March 27 that "documents some of the derogatory, homophobic and sexually explicit language and photographs shared by members of the Antioch Police Department that demonstrates their racials bias and animus towards African Americans and other people of color."
Tribute for Mykaella Sharlman (Nicole Eason/Facebook)
The texts allegedly included vulgar language, rampant use of the N-word, texts and memes that referred to Black people as "a bunch of gorillas," threats (like "I'll bury that n----- in my fields"), a sexually explicit image of a naked man sitting on George Floyd, among dozens of other messages, according to the 21-page report.
In one text, one police officer texted another, "Since we don't have video I sometimes just say people gave me a full confession when they didn't. gets filed easier," the report says.
In another text, an officer allegedly offered to buy someone a prime rib dinner if they would use a .40mm on Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe.
The original report named 14 Antioch police officers, but the Contra Costa County Public Defender's Office said in April that 45 officers out of the department's 99 commissioned on the force have now been accused of misconduct, CBS News Bay Area reported on April 18.
Mykaella Elizabeth Sharlman was allegedly mutilated and burned by two men in California, but prosecutors dropped the case because of a scandal in the Antioch Police Department. (Mykaella Sharlman/Facebook)
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The vile text messages surfaced during an FBI investigation into allegations that Antioch and Pittsburg police officers were distributing drugs and steroids, accepting bribes and intentionally using excessive force.
The Antioch Police Department could not immediately be reached for comment.
Remembering Sharlman
The scandal cost Sharlman's family closure and justice, said her family, who noted that there was video evidence of Boone and Montalvo's alleged actions.
"Justice is not being served," her mom, Sandra Sharlman, told CBS News Bay Area. "They have way too much evidence. This happened before all [the texting scandal] came out, and they come out all of a sudden like that. It's a cop-out. The system is failing us. It's failing us."
Mykaella Sharlman's family said, "Justice was not served," after charges were dropped against the suspects who allegedly burned her body. (Nicole Eason/Facebook)
Sharlman was an Oakland native and the youngest of seven siblings. She was studying at Los Medanos College with aspirations to work as a hair and makeup stylist. `
Tori Sharlman, one of Mykaella's sisters, cried as she recalled the night they filed a missing person report last October, and the detective told their family they had identified Mykaella through dental records.
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She was next to three of her siblings in a tear-jerking tribute video recorded and put together by DeAnna Shipman of D'Lightful Creations, who shared the video with Fox News Digital.
"Mykaella was the life of the party," Eason said in the video. "She was the ratchet one. She was the one in the corner observing everything and making moves at the same time. She moved to her own beat, and that's what I liked about her."
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As Eason spoke, a clip of Mykaella dancing and having fun played. Tori recalled their dance battles and how "corny she could be."
Mia Sharlman, another of Mykaella's sisters, was in tears as she held her newborn baby girl on her lap.
"I had this beautiful baby girl on my sister's birthday, and she'll never be able to celebrate another birthday or be in her niece's life," Mia said. "But God blessed us because I had her on her birthday."
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Mykaella's family said she was a very involved aunt and was a part of her nieces' and nephews' lives, but they didn't shy away from her overdose.
At the end of the video, Eason talked about some "takeaways," including the "circle of influence" and about avoiding drugs.
"Choose your circle of influence wisely, because that will positively impact you or negatively impact you. As we've seen with Mykaella, it negatively impacted her," Eason said.
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