Man acquitted in rape-murder of 11-year-old

[diane mendoza]

Not guilty

Jury acquits handyman in Shakira murder trial
Monday, December 20, 2004James F. McCarty
Plain Dealer Reporter
One of Cleveland's most notorious murder cases was returned to the ranks of the unsolved Sunday after a jury acquitted Daniel Hines of kidnapping and murdering Shakira Johnson.

Eleven-year-old Shakira's mother and brothers sobbed loudly during the reading of the verdicts, prompting deputies to escort them from the courtroom in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.

Hines, 26, a learning-disabled handyman from Cleveland, wept for joy with each not-guilty verdict. He had faced the death penalty if convicted.

[mysteriew]

On the two-year anniversary of his sister's disappearance, 15-year-old LaQuan Johnson pleaded for her killer to turn himself in.

"Come forward and take responsibility for what you've done," he said, standing tall with an arm around his mother. "Bring justice to my sister and peace to my family."

The thought that Shakira Johnson's killer is still out there haunts those who gathered Tuesday night on the corner of East 110th Street and Union Avenue in Cleveland, near where the 11-year-old girl was last seen.

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