Boyfriend charged with 3 counts of murder
Couple, daughter found shot to death inside Memphis home
Memphis police have charged a 28-yearold Memphis man in the slayings Thursday of his girlfriend and her parents in South Memphis.
Homicide investigators charged the boyfriend, Sedrick Clayton, with three counts of first- degree murder. Clayton was being held Friday in the Shelby County Jail.
At about 5:45 a.m. on Thursday, police found Arithio Fisher, 56, Patricia Fisher, 46, and their daughter, 23-year- old Pashea Fisher, with gunshot wounds at 1626 Preston. Arithio and Pashea were both pronounced dead at the home; Patricia died later at the Regional Medical Center at Memphis.
Arithio Fisher was an Internal Revenue Service information technology employee. Patricia Fisher was the reservations ticketing manager at the Memphis Zoo, where she had worked since 1995. Pashea Fisher was a deputy court clerk in the Shelby County General Session Court Clerk’s Office, according to officials.
Investigators report Clayton was involved in an argument with Pashea Fisher, who retreated to her parents’ bedroom. Clayton followed, the argument continued and all three victims were shot.
Clayton and Pashea Fisher, who was living with her parents, have a 4-year- old daughter together and he fled in his girlfriend’s sport-utility vehicle with the child.
Contacted through his family, Clayton surrendered to police at about 8:45 a.m. at the Raines Station police precinct.
A fourth member of the Fisher family who was in the home, identified in a court affidavit as A’reco Fisher, was awakened by gunshots and saw Clayton shoot his sister, Pashea Fisher.
Investigators report in the affidavit Clayton admitted to the slayings during a domestic altercation with his girlfriend.
The 4-year- old, initially placed in the care
of the Department of Children’s Services has been released to a family member, according to a police statement.
With only traffic and automobile -related charges reflected on his Shelby County court record, there were no officials signs Pashea Fisher or her family were at risk of becoming victims of fatal do- mestic violence.
“All of us working with this issue, it is just totally frustrating because this has gone to its worst conclusion and from what I can tell, no one in the system had a chance to try to help,” said Deborah Clubb, executive director of the Memphis Area Women’s Council.
From intimidation or harassment to constant monitoring or physical violence, victims should be urged to seek help at the first worrying sign of intimate partner or family violence, Clubb said. A Memphis Area Women’s Council project called the Erase Domestic Crime collaborative offers advice on at erasedomesticcrime.com.
“You cannot count on it to stop or go away on its own,” Clubb said. — Kevin Mckenzie:
(901) 529-2348