Sigh: Sharmeka Moffitt Lied About Being Burned By KKK, Set Herself Afire
When news broke about the Louisiana woman, Sharmeka Moffitt, being allegedly set on fire by the KKK and dubbed hate crime, racial undertones began to be discussed. After suffering extensive burns on more than half of her body, she was taken to the LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport for treatment. After two days of investigating the incident, authorities said that the forensic evidence indicates Moffitt set herself on fire.
AP reports:
Forensic evidence indicates that a 20-year-old Winnsboro woman suffering from extensive burns set herself on fire, then invented a story about being doused in flammable liquid by three men who she said also wrote the initials KKK and a racial slur on her car, State Police said Tuesday. On Sunday at 8 p.m., Sharmeka Moffitt called 911 from a walking trail in Winnsboro and told authorities she had been doused in flammable liquid by three men wearing white hoodies.
“The evidence does not support the statement that she was attacked by three males,” said Louisiana State Police spokeswoman Lt. Julie Lewis.
Lewis said Moffitt’s fingerprints were found on a lighter and lighter fluid recovered from the scene. Investigators also believe Moffitt used toothpaste to draw the KKK initials and racial slur on her vehicle. DNA evidence also points to Moffitt, she said.
Investigators have not been able to interview Moffitt because she remains in critical condition. Without speaking to her, it remains unclear why she might have set herself on fire, Lewis said.
Police are handing the case over to the Franklin Parish district attorney’s office, which will decide whether to file charges against Moffitt, she said.
After managing to stage the event, police believe it was Moffitt who wrote “KKK” and “n*gger” on her car, before she set fire to herself. Cobb and Winnsboro Police Chief Lester Martin said both Moffitt and her family still deserved the community’s prayers.
“This is a tragic situation,” Martin said.
