The week after Thanksgiving in 2006, friends and family of 27-year-old Sherri Jackson were concerned. She didn’t attend a party she’d RSVP’d for and no one had heard from her. They knew she wouldn’t leave town without telling anyone or notifying her job. Sherri failed to pick up her paycheck from Shipman Family Care the week after Thanksgiving. This was when Sherri’s family knew for certain that something was wrong.
Sherri was born in Burke County, one of four children. Her father, McArthur Jackson, helped open East Burke High School in 1973. The family moved to Asheville in 1988, before moving to Durham and then back to Morganton in 1999 when he retired. In high school, Sherri was an honor student, cheerleader, and a homecoming queen. She left home after graduation to attend the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. At the time of her disappearance, Sherri was employed by Shipman’s Family Care in Greensboro as a family and health care coordinator.
Her father later told the media, “She loved working with people in need. She was supervising health care technicians and was responsible for providing personnel to care for clients. Of course, she took a personal interest and got to know a lot by name, going out to visit them.”
A Toxic Relationship
It was no secret that Sherri had been dating a man named DeCarlo Rayshaun Bennett. While on the surface the relationship seemed to be going well, there were warning signs that all was not well. On October 31, 2006, DeCarlo had been charged with assaulting Sherri. She had called her father late one night, and when he answered, she said, “Daddy, tell this man to leave me alone.” A voice in the background said, “I’m leaving now, sir.” Then, the line went dead.
Her father called the local police and asked them to check on Sherri. They found her bruised and shaken, and she took out a restraining order against her then-boyfriend. McArthur was concerned about his daughter, and she told him, “I’m a survivor. Don’t worry about me.” The couple appeared to mend their relationship, and a few weeks later, Sherri brought DeCarlo to the Jackson family home for Thanksgiving.
Sherri’s parents had heard the couple were engaged, but Sherri hadn’t yet confirmed that. Still, McArthur took DeCarlo aside to discuss marriage and the importance of the husband’s role. He chose to take a non-confrontational approach, and said the man seemed to take the discussion well.
A week later, DeCarlo had to appear in court on the assault charges from October. Then, Sherri went radio silent.
Where Was Sherri?
At the request of Sherri’s parents, police showed up at her house to do a wellness check. Her car was still at the residence, but there was no sign of Sherri. Inside, the apartment had been left in a disarray. They also found blood spatter on a wall in the hallway and on a couch. The bathroom, however, was immaculate, and the floor was slippery. The CSI team used luminol in the bathroom and turned off the lights. The room was covered in blood.
While police were still at Sherri’s apartment, DeCarlo arrived and told them he was concerned about his girlfriend. He said he’d last seen her the evening she was scheduled to attend a party with friends. He did mention they’d had a disagreement, then he’d left. DeCarlo also revealed that Sherri was three months pregnant with his child. They hadn’t shared the news with anyone before her disappearance.
The Oxygen docuseries “Buried in the Backyard” revealed that Sherri had recently reconnected with an ex-boyfriend, Reggie, in an episode titled “Tangled Web.” Her friends and Reggie knew she was unhappy in her relationship with DeCarlo and was trying to break things off. Sherri had met DeCarlo at a party after she and Reggie had taken a break, and he wanted an exclusive relationship, discussing marriage almost immediately. Sherri was supposed to meet Reggie at the party the evening she went missing, but never showed up. Reggie even went to her apartment that night to see if she was home and tried to call her, but he couldn’t make contact.
Her friends didn’t believe Reggie would do anything to harm Sherri, but knew someone close to her was likely involved in her disappearance.
Questionable Forensic Evidence
A closer look at Sherri’s phone records showed a lack of calls after she went missing, as if her phone had been turned off. They found it suspicious that DeCarlo had not tried to call Sherri once after the night she went missing. One of the last calls had been between Sherri and a friend named Andre. The two knew each other through DeCarlo. Police questioned Andre and learned DeCarlo had been possessive and controlling in the relationship.
DeCarlo agreed to let investigators search his car, and they discovered a few small spots of blood on his trunk. These turned out to be a mixture of Sherri and DeCarlo’s blood.
On December 11, 2006, Capt. Gary Hastings said the department had collected evidence from Sherri’s apartment that pointed to a crime taking place there, but declined to elaborate. Her father McArthur told the media, “They’ve told me enough to let me know that I should not expect for her to be alive.”
Police searched a nearby lake and golf course and wooded areas surrounding Sherri’s apartment. They had no idea where she could be. They watched DeCarlo to see if he would take them to the place where he had left Sherri. DeCarlo immediately headed out of town towards the Research Triangle Area.
On December 14, 2006, DeCarlo Bennett, age 28, was charged with first-degree murder and arrested in Wake County. The blood investigators had found in her apartment was identified to be Sherri’s. Authorities said while they had not located Sherri’s body, a “conglomeration” of evidence and witness accounts led them to arrest DeCarlo. Sherri’s family hoped they would finally have the long-awaited answer as to where their daughter could be. They waited. But they would be waiting a long time for the final piece of the puzzle to be solved.
Questions Finally Answered
Bennett was prepared to go to trial starting on July 7, 2008. Instead, he finally came clean to investigators after pleading guilty to second-degree murder before the trial began.
First degree murder is defined as a willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing. Second degree murder is when a person intentionally kills another but without prior planning or premeditation. The charge is often used when a person acts with malice, meaning they intended to cause harm but did not specifically plan a murder.
Sherri’s parents agreed to DeCarlo receiving the lesser charge because they wanted to be able to find Sherri’s body and give her a proper burial.
Buried in a Backyard
On June 26th, 2008, investigators knocked on the door of a two-story home on Pine Meadows Court in the Gramercy Park neighborhood of Greensboro. A woman who had just recently purchased the home from DeCarlo’s mother answered and was surprised to find investigators armed with a map and asking to excavate her backyard. Why? They believed the remains of a missing local woman were there. But even after digging for hours,
The police officers still couldn’t locate Cherie’s body. They started to worry that DeCarlo had lied to them because he’d been untruthful throughout the entire investigation. They finally asked for DeCarlo to be brought to the scene and he pinpointed the location where Cherie’s body was, approximately four feet underneath the ground. Prosecutors said DeCarlo had confessed to cutting Cherie and then strangling her.
She also had an injury to her nose that probably occurred during the attack. After leaving Cherie in the back of his car for a few days, DeCarlo buried her in the backyard of his mother’s home. Cherie was positively identified through dental records. The autopsy revealed that she was not pregnant at the time of her death. Her family finally laid her to rest at the Forest Hill Cemetery in Morganton on July 7th, 2008.
Cherie’s father MacArthur told the media that he had forgiven Decarlo Bennett. He also said, I’ll let him know he needs to get himself right with God and ask for forgiveness. God hates murderers, but also forgives them. Look at David in the Bible. Jackson said he wanted families to know about the dangers of domestic violence. “I want them to encourage their loved ones, the abuser and the victim to get help. Don’t cover it up.”
He stressed the importance of advising victims to get out at even the first sign of violence before it’s too late.
On September 15th, 2008, DiCarlo Bennett was sentenced to a maximum of 13 years in prison as part of his plea deal. Cherie’s friends and family had the chance to address her killer. Cherie’s older sister, Shanice Belvin, said, the best way to describe the loss is having a shadow following you around. The shadow never goes away. It doesn’t disappear when I’m asleep. It doesn’t disappear when I’m awake. This is a very heavy shadow. Her mother, Clara Jackson, said, I look at the sunshine and I can see her smile. There’s nothing and no words to say how much I miss her.” Cherie’s friend, Tori Johnson, said, “Who do you think you are to be squeezing the life away of another person?”
She also read a poem she had written for her friend, apologizing for not stopping her friend’s killer. “I hope you spin around in full circles, she said. I hope you dance today because you are no longer cold and alone. You are free. You are free. You are so free to dance, Cherie, and you have found peace.”
DiCarlo’s attorney read two letters that his client had written, including one address to the Jacksons. He said he had not planned to kill Cherie and that her death was an accident. I sincerely apologize with all my heart, he wrote. After DiCarlo’s sentencing, Cherie’s friend, Portia Shipman, created the Cherie Denise Jackson Foundation for the Prevention of Domestic Violence. Over the years, the foundation provided resources and support for victims of domestic violence.
Portia said, “We hope it jars someone who is going through domestic violence to get out of that relationship before it happens, before she’s a victim of domestic violence. After serving 12 years and four months for the murder of Cherie Jackson, Decarlo Ra’Shaun Bennett, then 42, was released from prison in Durham County in January of 2021.
The Cherie Denise Jackson Foundation for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, Inc. put up five billboards in Greensboro and Durham upon his release. The billboard said, one in four women and one in seven men falls victim to abuse. They featured a phone number people could call for help. At the time, the founder and executive director of the foundation, Portia Shipman, said the group hoped the billboards would encourage people to get help if they needed it.
In June of 2021, the foundation was retired, but founder executive director, Portia Shipman continues to speak internationally on the topic of domestic violence. She runs a Paint the City Purple campaign that has been held every year since 2015, and also works with colleges and universities to educate the students on safe dating.
Show Sources:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10320274/ (Buried in the Backyard)
Greensboro News and Record
December 12, 2006
Tests Could Provide Answers
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Greensboro News and Record
December 15, 2006
Man Held in Murder of Missing Woman
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The News Herald
June 30, 2008
Remains are those of woman missing 2 years
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Greensboro News and Record
June 27, 2008
Ex-boyfriend pleads guilty in missing woman’s death
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News and Record
June 28, 2008
Body confirmed as victim of 2006 homicide
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The News Herald
July 2, 2008
Father forgives daughter’s killer
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News and Record
July 7, 2008
Remembering Sherri
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News and Record
August 2, 2008
Murder victim’s friends protest plea deal
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News and Record
September 16, 2008
Man gets 13 years in strangling death
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News and Record
June 25, 2009
Domestic violence victims to be remembered at vigil
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News and Record
November 14, 2009
Fundraiser will help group to fight domestic violence
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The News Herald
September 17, 2008
Man Gets 13 years in strangling death
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News and Record
Woman buried in yard was strangled, autopsy shows
August 20, 2008
