Worthy: Police probe into stripper killing ‘woefully inadequate’
Detroit — The initial Detroit police investigation into the murder of exotic dancer Tamara “Strawberry” Greene was “woefully inadequate,” Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy wrote in a letter sent to the federal judge hearing a civil lawsuit.
“As we approach the seventh anniversary of her death, the homicide remains unsolved,” Worthy said in the letter received Monday by Chief U.S. District Judge Gerald E. Rosen.
“It is fair to say that the initial investigation into her murder was woefully inadequate. This is not the time, nor the proper forum to discuss the shortcomings of the work of any police agency for the possible reasons for the inadequate investigation.”
Greene, a stripper linked to a rumored party at the mayor’s Manoogian Mansion in the fall of 2002, was shot to death in Detroit on April 30, 2003.
Her family is suing former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and top city and police officials, alleging they obstructed her murder investigation for political reasons. The defendants deny the allegations.
Rosen has scheduled a hearing Wednesday on requests from The Detroit News and other media representatives to relax secrecy rules he imposed in the case under which most documents and depositions are taken under seal. Rosen has cited the need to protect the integrity of the ongoing homicide investigation, as well as privacy concerns, as reasons for the unusual level of secrecy.
Worthy, who said her office got involved “because of the lack of a thorough investigation” by Detroit police, urged Rosen not to relax secrecy in the case in a way that might hamper the murder investigation, now being handled by a multi-jurisdictional task force that includes the FBI.
“My concern is that at a time when this investigation is finally proceeding as it should have years ago, that this progress could be hampered by the improper disclosure of information crucial to the case,” Worthy said.
A Detroit police spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.
Norman Yatooma, the Birmingham attorney representing Greene’s family, said he believes the murder investigation was “woefully inadequate” because it was “deliberately and unlawfully terminated.” It’s alleged the Greene murder file was moved to the police “cold case” unit much sooner than normal.
Yatooma said he thanks Worthy for “her commitment to thoroughly and honestly investigate Tammy’s murder.”
