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Florida A&M editor, housemate from Bradenton found dead

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published November 25, 2006

TALLAHASSEE - Authorities think a Florida A&M journalism student found dead in her home with a housemate was the victim of a murder-suicide.

Nefertiti Nicole Williams and Shundavian Marquis Brooks, both 20, were found dead Thursday afternoon. Both were from the Bradenton area and 2004 graduates of Southeast High School. They shared a house with three other Southeast graduates who had left for Thanksgiving.

Williams was the news editor of the Famuan, the university's three-times-a-week newspaper. She had also modeled for Faces Modeling Troupe in Tallahassee.

Leon County sheriff's Sgt. Tim Baxter said both died from single gunshot wounds to the head. He said there was no suicide note. It was unclear if Williams and Brooks had a relationship apart from being housemates.

Baxter said a deputy went to check on Williams after her mother called when she didn't show up for Thanksgiving. A woman who responded checked doors and windows and looked around, but didn't see anything. But about an hour later, one of Williams' friends went to the house and found a sliding rear door open, Baxter said. The friend found Brooks dead in the ground-floor living room, a gun beside him, and Williams' body in her second-floor bedroom.

Baxter said Williams was dead 10 to 24 hours before authorities found her, but Brooks had been dead just four to six hours.

James Hawkins, dean of FAMU's School of Journalism and Graphic Communication, called Williams a model student. "I'm stunned to believe she had an enemy in the world," he told the Tallahassee Democrat.

Williams was well-known at Southeast High. "We called her our African queen," said assistant principal Brenda O'Connor. "Her name so perfectly suited her. She was a precious child."

Williams won the Golden Herald award in citizenship her senior year and was active in several clubs at Southeast.

Brooks wasn't working or attending school, according to friends. They described him as a laid-back young man who enjoyed basketball.

[Last modified November 25, 2006, 00:07:45]