DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A woman will spend 20 years in prison for running over her boyfriend as he was lying in the road after first being hit by another car.
DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announced the conviction on Thursday of 36-year-old Vanessa Dates-Bell. Her charges had included attempted murder, aggravated assault, and hit and run resulting in serious injury or death.
The boyfriend, 25-year-old Tavorris Threadcraft, died in the incident. It's unclear why Dates-Bell wasn't charged with murder, though a possible complicating factor was the other car's involvement.
According to the DA's Office, Threadcraft and Dates-Bell had been arguing prior to the incident. He was walking along Fairington Road in Stonecrest around 1 a.m. when he was struck by an UberEats driver.
The UberEats driver stopped and called 911 as Threadcraft was lying in the road.
"While on the phone with the dispatcher, the driver checked Threadcraft for a pulse and reported he was still alive," the DA's Office said in a release. "Other cars stopped at the scene, but a blue car drove around those vehicles and ran over Threadcraft. The UberEats driver could be heard screaming on the 911 recording for that car to stop. After running over Threadcraft, the blue car sped off."
Police later determined Dates-Bell was driving the car. Among other evidence, police also found a video of the two arguing in which "she threatened to run him over shortly before the incident."
Tavorris' mother, Jeneifer Threadcraft, says Dates-Bell called her after running over Tavorris.
"In the middle of the night, at 1:25 a.m., she calls me and says, 'Mommy, mommy !come quick. I think Tavorris just got hit.' And I say, 'What do you mean by he just got hit?' She said, 'I heard a big kaboom when I went by a van.'"
Jeneifer said when she showed up at the scene, an investigator handed her a paper bag with her son's belongings and told her what happened. She said she fell to her knees and wept, but her faith got her back up.
Jeneifer said she knew something was wrong when the couple constantly argued.
"I told them, in this very house, 'Y'all are toxic. Why don't y'all just break up?"
She would have never guessed what happened next.
"A couple of hours later, she ended up killing him," Jeneifer said.
Tavorris' Uncle Charles Bradford said there's more to the story.
"He had already been assaulted," Bradford said, "She had already hit him. When he just happened to gain his composure to stand up, and a car hit him. And then, she came back to finish it.
Investigators found the car belonged to Dates-Bell's mom, and investigators found she'd driven it to a friend's house in North Carolina and left it there before fleeing to her home state of New York.
Jeneifer said she and the family miss Tavorris dearly.
"I'm not even mad," Jeneifer said, "It's just like, why?"
She remembers her son fondly. He's her second youngest of four.
"You've got those people that have got a smile for every emotion, but they never frown," Jeneifer said, "That was Tavorris."
Jeneifer said she's been blessed with grandchildren that are all boys except for one. She holds onto them for joy.
While Dates-Bell may have received her just-due in court, Bradford said it's not enough.
"He's no longer with us," Bradford added, "She's still eating every day."
According to the DA's Office, an anonymous tipster told them where to find the car. It was found with blood spots on its underside that were DNA tested - coming up as a match for Threadcraft.
Dates-Bell's sentence included five years of probation after the 20-year prison sentence.
Jeneifer said she's a psychologist and started an organization called Positive Peering, Inc., to help people in honor of her son.