Two lives and two families torned forever. It's such a tragic loss.

What a shame! So within moments these young women decided to change their young lives this drastically over some immature boy/man???? This is one of the saddest and most unnecessary deaths for the victim- and imprisonment for the stabber.

Nothing in my experience prepares me to understand how serious a romantic relationship can be for 18 year old women to trade the rest of her life in for a young man that will not be in anyone of their lives for the next year 95% of the time. Now that they have stupidly eliminated each other, he can move on to the next two women. Hopefully, the next two will be somewhat smarter than these two.

What a grave sacrifice for any woman to make at a time that these women should be making their way to college, competing for and gettting scholarship/financial aid for college and embracing their new life on some campus. My goodness! where are the priorites???

My heartfelt condolence to all families and individuals affected by this sensless murder and incarceration! The only thing I see is loosers all around: the young women, their familes and the State of Rhode Island for all the wasted resources invested in training these women to date.

well i know abimbola..and all i can say is i have known her since 6th grade. she is an amazing woman..with a beautiful son, and that natasha girl must have done something BIG to make bim to that..i am sorry for the victims families loss.

Amara,
Gimme a break with your crocodile tears. Look at the names of these kids, and you'll see it's a big part of THEIR CULTURE....And it's loser, Amara, not looser..

omg i went to school with her

seriously hickok, your comment makes no sense.
are you stating that by reading her name from a newspaper you know what her CULTURE is all about?
I think not, my dear. go back to school and buy a clue, okay? i wouldnt necessarily say its that person's culture to go out and stab someone, but i will say it's their upbringing and how they were raised. OBVIOUSLY this person was never taught that stabbing people is WRONG. And that has nothing to do with CULTURE... Not only should she suffer her years out in Cranston at the ACI, but her parents should get a slap too.

r.i.p natasha.

R.I.P to my closest cousin I just found out at 3:43 today that she died.....Miss you TASHA LOVE

this is what happens when young girls have babies and they fight over men... what is this world comingto im trying to raise 4 beautiful kids in this world 2 r in the jr high im scared to send them to school sometimes cuz god knows whats gonna happen..i pray for both of these familys especialy the johnson family who now that lil baby of hers will grow up with out a mother....
may god be with both familys at this time

"Look at the names of these kids, and you'll see it's a big part of THEIR CULTURE....And it's loser, Amara, not looser..
Hickok | March 21, 2008 2:25 PM link"

"Vicious comments, personal attacks and profanity won't be published." But feel free to post all the racist bs you want, it's the Rhode Island way!!

There is two lives being affected and your going to sit here and argue with each other this makes no sense. This goes to show what this generation is bringing up. This is a horrible thing that happened two young lives destoyed over nothing. God bless the young women who passes away and had no chance to live out her young years. God bless the baby of the young girl who is going to spend most of her life in JAIL>>

People should keep their comments to there self. Thats a life that was taken not a color. Remember that family members are reading these comments. Tarsha was a beautiful girl inside and out her Mom & Dad are suffering enough Please keep that in mind when you post a comment

See where PMS will get you?

I have known Tasha for many years, she is a good friend of my children, I personally don't think culture had anything to do with it! They were doing what young girls do fighting over a boy, unfortunatly this situation was escalated to a point of no return. I just hope that other young girls will learn from this and realize nothing is worth thier lives. My deepest condolences to the family, I can't even imagine the pain. I also want to say how sorry I am for the family of the accused,two families have lost thier daughters in this tragic event.

No man or woman is worth dying for.

ya you guys wanna attack bim for stabbing this natasha girl, but look at it this way natasha and her friends followed bim to her house and kept arguing. Ya that shows that you are mature, obviously SHE was the one who was not raised properly. I am not saying that killing someone is right and ya bim should get jail time but she did this out of self-defense.

Natasha I love you and we'll all miss you forever =[ I'm sorry your family has to go through this .. you were one of the biggest sweethearts i knew and you will never be forgotten

and natasha was not dating the guy so dont leave comments saying she didn't know how to date it was somebody elses fight that she got in the middle of.. have some respect

tasha i will miss u i'll never forget the talks we had and all the good and bad times. ur in a better place now and u'll always b in our hearts

I'll miss u tasha i'll never forget u or all the fun times we had together....you were special. u always new how to make some one happy when they were sad and and laugh when they cried. i'll miss u R.I.P tasha we will always be thinking about u!!

rest in peace natasha

hi babygrl, such a shame this had to happen. your in a better place now. youl forever be in my heart. and people really needa get a damn life instead of writing comments about a situation obv that had nothing to do with. girls get in fights. theres no reason to pul a knife. the girl will get what she deserves by the law. natashaa mama.... see you soon :)

R.I.P Natasha.. I love you! you were always mad funny and always one to make another smile. you did anything for anybody, ill miss you. love lexi

I can't believe that everything that is going on in this world people still have a nerve to relate crimes to color, america bleeds the same color no matter what nationality you are. It's ashame that someone is not on this earth because of shamless acts, I think people need to wake up and talk to their kids.

I'm so sorry for natasha and her family. keep your heads up everyone things will get better. To all of those who are in pain from this incident i am so sorry and stay strong. No one deserves to be killed no matter what, and taking a person's life and resorting to a knife rather than be able to be the bigger person is pathetic. Bim you are pathetic. Have fun in jail.

id like to send my deepest sympanthy to natashas family i was friends with her in high school she was a very kind hearted person and always had a smile on her face

RIP Tasha you will always be missed and in everyones heart...

sounds like self defense to me. according to the article they went to her house, and they charged at her first. it seems like she was just defending herself. read the article and its easy to conclude, put yourself in the same situation. she even called the cops which indicates she knew she was outnumbered.

see now im pist off all these ppl talking bad about natasha you dont even know her! it wassnt even natashas beef natasha was there for her friend they were just talking to her it was the murderer who wanted to get violent! damn tash i wish u wa here to tell your story proove all these haters wrong! nmw you will always be in my heart baby girl! when its my time i hope you meet me at the gates i love you girl!

This is a very sad story for both parties involved. Back in the days when I was in school (86) and we had a arguement with other females, we used our intellegence in words and it was possible that a hand slap or hair pulling was met, but never did we think about grabbing a knife and stabbing someone. These children are taught now through endless videos and movies that its ok to take a knife or a gun and teach the person a lesson..this world is getting crazy by each passing day.. Please don't blame parents for these 18 year old girl's mistakes, As a parent of a 22 year old, I pray that all I have instilled in my son is brought to life in his everyday world, and if he makes his decisions based on my prior upbringing, I pray they were the correct ones.. This girl made a very wrong decision on that very moment and she will pay for the rest of her life, as for the VICTIM, may she be blessed with Peace and her family may they heal from a lifetime of pain from such a unforgettable mistake...

Tashaa man this is crazyy kid I just let chu into my party for free I was all mad at chu cuz u didn't want to pay lol remeber the cake that night all the crazy times my dude.. Well tasha man I feell so bad kid and I miss you

Natasha we will all miss you greatly. You were a great kid and nobody deserves this in life. My condolences go out to Natashas family and friends. Ill remember you as we were on graduation night. Happy and together.

good Friday turned out to be not so good after all. Tasha was the victim . her friends that were with her could and should have stop this from happening. and now her Family and Friends have to suffer from her loss. What a shame a beautiful life fell short. my heart and prayers go out to the Gonsalves Family. I knew Tasha she was like a ray of sunshine. She was best friends with my step daughter.We love you and miss you R.I.P

That is my first cousin you all are commenting on.....my God, she hasn't been buried yet! Leave her alone! Her father and mother will have a hard enough time dealing with this horrible mess! Please pray for our family.

I went to school with Natasha. She was a very beautiful girl with alot to live for. Unfortunately violence has taken our world to such an extremity that she had to die over something petty. My deepest condolences and love go out to her family and may she rest in peace.

I just dont understand y girls are so envy towards eachother? but i have been in the same situation where i ended up being set up and jumped by 7 evil girls thank GOD that i made it through it and i am now relocated and physically relocated. But there is nothing that made it right for that girl to stab Natasha. I dont know either of these young ladies but i am 20 years old and as much as i have been through I have no right to take someone elses life. This situation is not self defense. It was a brutal murder. Rather the girls followed her around all day she should hvae called 911 from the 1st time they came and approached her so she could not have been too afraid she to me flat out killed Natasha. Natasha was such a beautiful young lady and im pretty sure she had so much to offer a true baby barely 18 years old a young life taken for someones stupid reaction over a guy. I have learned the hard way there is no man that i am fighting over besides jesus christ my brothers or my nephew. I would never feel that i have the right to take ANYONES life neither. I feel that the accussed she suffer life in jail. when u kill someone there is nothing that u can do there is not enough time that u can do in prison it is just something you can never do to replace that person that is rip. I cant believe that ignorance on this page arguing about such dumb things and about someones culture and there names. that has nothing to do with what actions they do. where they comes from has a tiny bit to do but it is also who they are inside. No one can ever really know about a person. But a fight is a fight how could she take this young girls life?

Do we know the immigration status of the killer? If she's an illegal, shouldn't Karen Lee Ziner do a puff piece on how hard her life has been and how we should give her a break?

Shame on Projo for allowing this paper to be turned into a blog or a rumor mill. This information or lack of should be saved for the judge and jury. How do you expect anyone to remain bias when we are given a "news report" from those involved. Come on projo be professional don't turn this paper into a gossip column. We are talking about a criminal case here. Report the facts as they unfold.

"The Bible says train a child in the way they should go and when they grow old they will return to it". The bible says " Thou shall not kill". "Love one another as I have Loved you". God so loved the WORLD that HE gave HIS only begotten son". Natasha was my second cousin. I had the previledge to be the first person to babysit her after she was born. I have wonderful memories of Natasha and would like to keep it that way. Unfortunately with the Internet and the ability to voice our opinions, people are posting some judgemental statements toward the deceased and the accused. My cousin Russell said it well, keep your comments to yourselves or at least don't post them where the family members can read them. Words hurt. There is enough hurt for both families. If you call youselves mature young men and women, show it. Post mature statements. But know this, God loves you and desires for change in every life commenting on this blog. He desires change in all our hearts. He desires lives living through love not hate. He desires to bless not curse. He desires a pure heart, not a heart full of deceit and evil. Forgiveness is the greatest thing you can learn in life. People are going to let you down, rub you the wrong way for the rest of your life, learn while you are young to resolve conflict in a mature way. Learn it now. Read books, ask your parents questions on conflict resolution. Stop acting like you know it all. God is faithful to those who seek Him. Seek God and He will be found. As for Love, the bible says, "....That you do not arouse or awaken my love until she pleases." So often we search for love in all the wrong places and at the wrong time. Love is not simple, it is a very complex thing. It requires all of your being to sustain love. The bible also says something about Love. There is a time for everything under the sun. Read I Cor 13:4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. v5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. v6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. v7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. v8 Love never fails. v13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Our next generation is quite the opposite of these verses. Not all but for the most part. As you can see, most of what I have written comes from the Holy Bible. It is worth reading. It can teach you about life and love. I hope you take the time to invest in your life and get to know God and His word and His purpose for you lives.

Natasha,
We will alsways miss you and remember who you were and what you stood for. You were beautiful, smart and a joy to talk to and be around. The number of people you befriended at school cannot even be recorded because you were friendly with so many of us. Tommorrow at your service, the sadest thing I will have to ever face is seeing you lying in a casket.
To Natasha's Mother,
I only meet you once while I was with E'lan but I remeber you being a sweet and sincere women. My condolences out to you. Words cannot express the hurt and the sadness that consumes me as I write this right now. Your daughter did not die in vain, and she will always be remembered.
To E'lan & Kerri,
I dissaponted and absolutely disgusted with your actions. Now one of your best friends is dead over something that did not involve her. The saddest thing is that her murderer didnot even know her....Live with yourselves and I will be praying for all who are affected by this tragedy.

Lastly, stop bickering over who posts what above you. This is a blog to say your condolences to Natasha and her family, not to critize who says what. The people that knew her loved her no matter how close their relationship was and if you didnt know her you would of loved her too.

i went to school with natasha, she was a very quiet girll who never bothered anyone and after one incident look where she is today, we will all miss her very much, im sorry for the parents of both family's best regards..

i really didnt know Natasha, but even though she was a part of our graduation class she will never be forgotten, R.I.P Natasha forever will u be loved

I hope she gets off, she was defending herself against three vicious, evil girls that followed her home, thinking they were tough. I don't blame her at all, they came to her home! If the deceased wasn't involved than she shouldn't have been there. People should be careful who they hang out with because they might get you killed.

I want to express my sincere condolence to all those affected by this tragedy. I write to express gratitude to mature writers like Shontell for the constructive comments for all that she posted above.

It is also a shame to note that some narrow-minded and hate filled individuals could not resist the temptation to display their prejudiced and racially bigoted inclinations on this very sad ocassion. People like Hickok and Greg should bury their heads in shame. What a shame that some elements of this society remain dedicated to the narrow minded view that murder and violence are some inherent culture of some ethnic groups. How ridiculous does it sound in 2008 to see some ignoramus claim that by the names of the deceased and other victim (to be clear, I see nothing but victims here), they can tell the most essential elements of their culture. Well Greg, sorry to shock you, both of these young women to the best of my knowledge are US citizens. I happen to know that at least one of them was born here and the other if not born here was raised in this culture from a very early age. As such, your immigration argument holds no ground and you are better off taking it somewhere else.

Should we now raise the hypothesis that something about growing up in America predisposes children to violence? If you ever dared to look beyond your nose and examine the date, the fact is that the United States is by far one of the most violent places in the world. So your argument about culture of violence and murder is not only stupid, it is baseless based on all available information. We can take this dumb analogy much further and generalize it to other national tragedies experienced by the US like Sept. 11 and the ongoing war in Iraq. Let me also remind you that it is still the case that one of the most consistent demographic profile of serial killers in the US is white male. Does it therefore imply that it must be an essential part of white male culture to kill without provocation?

The ignorance of people like is amazing. I am delighted that at least Hickok can spell. Unfortunately, even that small plus does little to mask the fact that both of you really need a desperate lesson on how to think before you sanction another Columbine style murder on account of race, cultural intolerance and xenophobia. Your hate inspired arguments are among the most bereft of reasoning I've ever encountered. I am hopeful that both of you will see beyond hate and carefully read Shontell's March 24 posting. Hurting people hurt others and I can tell that you are hurting.

Once again, my heartfelt condolence to the families involved.

R.i.p I miss you

DAMN TASHA IM STILL SHOCKED.... I STILL KANT BELIEVE DIS ITS KILLEN MEH 4REAL I FEEL LIKE I LOST ONE OF MAH SISTERS 4REALLLL I KANT EVEN DESCRIBE DHA PAIN DHAT IM FEELIN FOR JU.... MISZ AND LOVE JU LIKE CRAZZZZZZZY DAMN WE WAS JUSZ CHILLEN.... MAH TASHA DAMN MAN BUT ITS AIIIGHT THO KUZ I KNO JU GON LIVE ON... ITZ GONNA BE TOUGH WIT OUT CHU HEA BUT IMMA TRYYYY 2 STAY STRONGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG KUZ I KNO YOUH WOULD DO THE SAME...YOU WILL ALWAYS BE IN MAH HEART 4REALLLL NEVER EVER BE FORGOTTEN.... DAMN I WISH I WAS HOME WEN JU HIT ME UP TO RIDE WIT CHUUUU UGHHHHHH MANNNNNN I DUNNNO WHA TO0 DO DAMN TASHHHHH ALL I KAN DO IS JUSZ LET DESE TEARS KEEP FALLIN FROM MY EYESSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!
AYYY LOLZ MEMBA "WE GOT DIS" AND BEST BELIEVE WE STILL GOT DISZ... SO MANY GO0D TIMES WE HAD TOGETHA NOW ALL I GOT ISZ MEMORIESSSSSSSS BUT I GUESS DHATZ BETTA THAN NOTHING RIGHT... IM SOOO SICKKK OH DAMN DAMN I WISHED YOU NEVA LEFT ME TASHA I LOVE YOU.... YOU WAS SUCH A LOVING PERSON ALWAYS MINDED YOUR BUSINESS NEVER BOTHERED ANYONE ITS A SHAME IM SO UPSET RIGHT NOWWWW BUT IMMA LET CHU GO KUZ ILL POUR MAH WHOLE HEART OUT ON THIS...

I LOVE YOU SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCHHHHHH

Natasha was a BEATIFUL girl INSIDE and OUT. I just saw her... and Her eyes sparkled with life.

Why didn't her family come out and help?
Bim was not alone and helpless.... Why?

Natasha is with the angels, this is not a question in my heart or mind.

May the truth come out and may this world be healed from hate, envy, racism and judgmental individuals.
Rest In Peace Angel

I can't believe some of the writers comments...I knew Natasha.

At first when students were talking to me about the stabbing during the first period of the day …I must admit that it didn’t occur to me that the girl who died was my former advisory student…Natasha Gonsalves.

One of the best things that the School Department came up with is Advisory. As an Advisory Teacher we get a chance to follow a group of students through the course of their high school careers. We help them with a variety of things from grades, portfolio, and simple day to day “what evers”. Bottom-line, we know these students very well by the time they graduate and leave us. You create a personal bond with them as if they are your own children.

Natasha was a beautiful, honest, hard working and passionate girl. She was always sitting in the “Big Chair” in my classroom laughing or joking with me most mornings. So when the students were talking about her during class, it didn’t click until the last period of the day when I made the connection. I then phoned a colleague whom I knew would know the facts and confirm what I really did not want to believe…Natasha had died.

My heart goes out to her parents, brother, family and friends on the loss of this wonderful young individual with so much potential.

…I just want to ask why this needless death had to happen? This problem could have been handled in a nonviolent way, as I know Natasha was trying to do.

To all families involved, I extend my heartfelt condolences.
I am asking all of you who wish to post comments be respectful of everyone who is undeniably grieving (especially the families) and in shock from this horrific tragedy!

If you have substantial facts then you should notify the authorities immediately! Otherwise, be mindful that lives have been lost and altered forever.

Think before you act and have respect for others. You can always walk away and have no regrets now, there are no options for Natasha and limited ones for Abimbola who will have to live w/ her devastating decision of taking a beautiful life and having hers now dictated by the law!

There are many victims in this event and unfortunately, it appears that the "friends" who were apart of this need to step up and make sure that the facts are told so the accusations can stop and those who are responsible can atone for their actions!!

Remember Natasha doesn't have any more options, her future has been taken due to a senseless act of violence. Let's all pray for the families and embrace them w/ as much love and support possible. They are going to need much strength to deal w/ this unimaginable loss. To Gonsalves and Flores families there are no words to express my sympathy. Always remember Natasha as the beautiful young woman she flourished into. She will always be remembered and loved for the beautiful soul she was.

Rest in peace Natasha... God is good and has taken you into his home in heaven. Rebecca I wish I could be there to hug you and tell you how much this hurts me. You are a great Mom and you gave her all she ever needed. Your princess, your queen your everything has gone ahead of you. May the Lord give you the power to overcome this dark time in your life. Mourning with you Yvette and Jeff T...(all the way from Georgia)

i love u tasha ya fav. cousin

RIP NATASHA HAVE A WONDERFUL LIFE IN HEAVEN

To all of you......
THIS IS NATASHA'S MOTHER (REBECCA). I would greatly appreciate it if all who do not know what happened to be quite and say nothing more than create love, peace, unity and awareness for yourselves. Natasha is speaking to me spirituraly. Belive me no one knows what really happened except the ones she wants to tell. I as her mother knows what happened. She did not follow Bim. She was told to go to her house by a friend. Again, KEEP YOURSELF AWARE OF WHAT YOU SAY... KEEP YOUR EYES OPENED, EARS READY TO LISTEN, MOUTH CLOSED.

NATASHA'S MOTHER

"but she did this out of self-defense."

Are you serious? some of you people are unbelievable. How come it doesnt say anywhere that this 'abimbola' girl got hurt at any time? She had time to go inside and get a knife...why didnt she just stay inside and called the cops? seems to me she knew exactly what she was going for. Now she'll have plenty of time to think about what she did, over and over again...May God forgive her...