Domestic terrorismWoman who killed N.J. trooper in 1973 makes the FBI’s most wanted list
Joanne Chesimard, a former member of the Black Liberation Army who killed a New Jersey state trooper in 1973, has become the first woman to make the FBI’s most wanted list. The reward for her capture and arrest has doubled to $2 million. In 1979 Chesimard escaped jail, and since 1984 has been living in Cuba, using the name Assata Shakur.
The FBI reward announcement for the arrest of Joanne Chesimard // Source: Daniela Souza via Youtube.com
Joanne Chesimard, a former member of the Black Liberation Army who killed a New Jersey state trooper in 1973, has become the first woman to make the FBI’s most wanted list. The reward for her capture and arrest has doubled to $2 million.
On the 40th anniversary of the incident in which Chesimard shot and killed Werner Foerster at a traffic stop, State Police Superintendent Colonel Rick Fuentes said the case still affects state troopers today.
“She continues to flaunt her freedom in the face of this horrific crime,” Fuentes said at a news conference Thursday. Fuentes called the case “an open wound” for troopers in New Jersey and around the country.
The Huffington Post reports that Chesimard and two others in a car were stopped by troopers for a broken taillight and exceeding the speed limit. When troopers began to question the passengers, a gunfight ensured and Foerster was shot twice in the head by Chesimard with his own gun.
Chesimard was convicted of the shooting in 1977 and sentenced to a minimum of twenty-five years. In November 1979 she escaped the Clinton Correctional Facility for Women in New Jersey after three members of the Black Liberation Army who were visiting her drew concealed .45-caliber pistols, seized two guards as hostages, and commandeered a prison van.
In 1984 Chesimard fled to Cuba, where she was granted political asylum. She currently lives under the name Assata Shakur.
The Justice Department has maintained its $1 million reward for information leading to her capture, and the additional money has been given by New Jersey through civil and criminal forfeiture funds.
“She is a domestic terrorist who murdered a law enforcement officer execution style,” Aaron Ford, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Newark division told reporters. “And while we can’t right the wrongs of the past, we can and will continue to pursue justice no matter how long it takes.”
Chesimard is believed to be one of several American refugees living in Cuba because the country does not have an extradition agreement with the United States. In recent years, however, Cuba has extradited some fugitives to the United States, including a man who was convicted of mail fraud and was sought on child pornography charges.
Authorities have not given up hope that someone will come forward with pertinent information which could lead to Chesimard’s apprehension.
“Our resolve to capture Joanne Chesimard does not diminish with the passage of time,” Chiesa told reporters. “Instead, it grows stronger with the knowledge that this killer continues to be free. Our hope is the augmented reward will spur action that will bring Joanne Chesimard back to face the justice she has evaded for far too long.”
