An innocent Tulsa woman's death

Saturday, January 7th 2006, 7:02 pm

By: News On 6

Tulsa Police say a murder over the weekend was especially brutal. 22-year-old Modesta Ramirez was beaten to death, she did not know the men who kidnapped and killed her, and she was only trying to get her laundry done.

News on 6 crime reporter Lori Fullbright says Moesta Ramirez was Tulsa's fourth homicide victim of the year, but she was much more than a number.

She was a young woman who moved here from Mexico when she was a teenager to make a better life for her and her little brother, Bryan who she's been raising since he was an infant. She worked at Wendyâ€™s and lived a quiet life.

Victimâ€™s cousin Pedro Ramirez: "Always joking, no enemies. She didn't like to go out or drink. She just went from home to work and work to home."

Modesta went to an apartment laundry room Friday night around 5 PM. When her family didn't hear from her, they got worried and began looking and filed a missing persons report.

Tulsa Police say 17 year old Marquise White confronted Modesta and asked her for money. When she said she didn't have any, police say White carjacked her and took her with him, then, dragged her to a creek where he beat her to death. They say he then spent the night riding around in her car, picking up relatives and even showing one of them, her body.

Tulsa Police Sgt Mike Huff: "It was very, very savage and brutal. All murders are brutal, but, this one struck us, she was viciously attacked."

Her family can't believe she's gone and all for the few dollars she had on her and a car that was so old it didn't even have a stereo. Pedro: "I was in shock. I didn't know what to say or what to think." Certainly, her little brother, will miss the only mother he's ever known. Bryan: "I love her."

The suspect, Marquise White, is currently enrolled in the Jenks Alternative Center and has been since February of last year.

Modesta's family is trying to raise money to send her body back to her mother and siblings in Mexico. If you want to help, a Modesta Ramirez Fund has been set up at Arvest Bank. You can make donations at any Arvest Bank branch in the Tulsa area.

The family isn't sure what will happen to her little brother Bryan, such a cute kid, a 2nd grader at Jenks, he may have to go back to Mexico as well.