Source: Douglas Sacha / Getty
Tamla Horsford was a mother a mother of five, who was found dead on November 4, 2018 after attending a “football moms,” sleepover in Cumming, Georgia.
Horsford, 40, was found unresponsive lying face down in the backyard of the host’s home. Horsford was allegedly the only Black person at the event with seven other white women.
On Tuesday, the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office closed the case by stating Horsford died from an accidental fall after reviewing the details of the autopsy and toxicology report. The move to close the case may have sealed Horsford’s fate among authorities, but her family and friends remain unmoved.
Witnesses who attended the party contend Horsford died after falling off of a balcony, while Horsford’s loved ones believe a darker fate awaited her and allege foul play. A report by the Forsyth Medical Examiner’s office ruled Horsford’s death was an accident, and that her fall from the deck caused multiple blunt force injuries and “acute ethanol intoxication,” WSB-TV reports.
Horsford’s best friend Michelle Graves, voiced her skepticism over the medical examiner’s findings in an interview with WSB-TV.
“It’s impossible to get the injuries that she had from one fall,” Graves said. To find answers, Horsford’s family hired a private medical examiner. Graves says those findings have created even more doubt, and discovered extensive injuries all over Horsford’s body.
“We’re glad we’re not the only ones who feel there’s something awry with the story and with how she lost her life,” Graves told Petchenik.
On Monday, WSB-TV obtained the chilling 911 call where the boyfriend of the homeownerdialed authorities to alert them of Horsford’s unresponsiveness.
“She’s lying in the yard, basically on the patio downstairs. She’s not moving one bit. She’s not breathing,” he told dispatchers.
“I’m noticing a small cut on her right wrist. She’s not breathing whatsoever. I don’t know if this cut was self-inflicted,” the call continues.
Social media has also taken a distinct interest in the story, calling for complete transparency through the hashtags #JusticeForTamla and #TamlaHorsford. The state of Georgia already has an extensive history of mysterious deaths where the family and community remain unsettled with the findings. One obvious inference is the tragic death of Kendrick Johnson, who was found unresponsive in a high school gym mat in Valdosta, Georgia.
Horsford’s death proves to be a tragedy because five children are without a mother and the unrest which exists around her death.
