VIRGINIA BEACH — Hours after the FBI confirmed Saturday that the remains found Friday in Charlotte, N.C. were those of Ashanti Billie, the 19-year-old woman who had been missing from Virginia Beach for nearly two weeks, her parents thanked those who put in the time to help find her.
“Thank you to everyone in our community here, everywhere, even nationwide who was searching for Ashanti,” her mother Brandy Billie said at a press conference streamed on Facebook.
Both Brandy and Ashanti’s father, Meltony, remained composed, referring to their faith and, seemingly, a broader mission.
“She is home,” Meltony Billie said. “She is home with God, and we’re OK with that.”
People should remain “encouraged,” she added.
“This is not one of the outcomes we were seeking but there are other young people missing out here,” she said.
In an emailed statement sent Saturday afternoon, a spokesperson for the FBI’s office in Norfolk said they were notified of the positive identification by the Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner’s Office and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Police Department.
“It is with deep regret that I inform the community that Ashanti Billie has been located, deceased, in Charlotte, North Carolina,” Martin Culbreth, Special Agent in Charge of the Norfolk Division of the FBI, said in the statement. “I, along with the entire investigative team, offer our most sincere condolences to the Billie family, especially Ashanti’s parents Brandy and Tony. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
“Our community should know that our work does not end here. Now our mission is to bring justice for Ashanti, and we will be relentless in our efforts to find who did this to her. We will not rest until the person who robbed Ashanti of her life, her promise and her future is held fully accountable under the law,” Culbreth said.
FOX 46 in Charlotte reported Friday that a body was found around 9:30 a.m. by a man cutting the grass at East Stonewall AME Zion Church in Charlotte. The news station also told Southside Daily the FBI asked the family to travel to North Carolina to identify that body.
Billie was last seen entering Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story around 5 a.m. on Sept. 18. She was reporting for work at a sub shop but never arrived. She also missed her scheduled college classes, according to the FBI.
Later on Sept. 18, Billie’s cellphone was found in a dumpster near the corner of Tallyho Terrace and Azalea Garden Road in Norfolk. Last Saturday, police found Billie’s Mini Cooper in the 9500 block of Lakeside Drive.
Brandy Billie had a pointed message for whoever is responsible for her daughter’s death.
“To the person or persons that decided they wanted to take our baby and away from everyone who loved her: you’re a coward.”
If you have any information, please call the FBI in Norfolk at 757-455-0100.
Southside Daily will update this story with the family’s statement.
