Taylor Blackwell, 19
Sacramento, California
February 28, 2020
Agencies: Sacramento County sheriff’s Department California | Sacramento Police Department California
Cause of death: Beating
Last updated: over 3 years ago
Overview 
A spokesperson for the Sacramento Police Department said officers received a call from the fire department to assist after Blackwell's body was found in a room at Woodspring Suites on La Mancha Way.
Later, homicide detectives were sent to investigate. Sgt. Sabrina Briggs said it is standard procedure in this type of death investigation for homicide detectives to respond. The detectives investigate then wait for the coroner’s report before moving forward on the investigation, if necessary.
Blackwell’s mother said investigators gave her few details about what happened to her daughter.
Chiffon Buckner said officers initially told her it appeared to be an accident.
“It looked like she could have slipped and fell and injured her cervical spine,” Buckner said. “That’s what they told me.”
Detectives told Buckner there was no blood at the scene.
The mother said she wasn’t prepared for what she saw at the funeral home. She noticed her daughter’s lips, right away.
“They were cracked and busted up,” Buckner said. “There was a gash between her eyes on the bridge of her nose. There was bruising on her face. Her arms were so bruised up that we had to cover them.”
Sacramento police said Blackwell’s case is being considered a death investigation at this time.
Briggs would not confirm any specific details of the case, including where Blackwell’s body was found, who called 911 or if the department has any suspects or persons of interest.
Briggs said detectives are waiting on reports from the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office.
Earlier this month, Buckner said detectives came to her home and asked her not to share certain details of the case.
“They started talking about how certain things shouldn’t be said because they don’t want certain things getting out to certain people who could be involved in the case,” Buckner said. “In the event that it ends up being led to an arrest needing to be made.”
Buckner said she was also told her daughter’s autopsy would be expedited.
The coroner’s office said it cannot release any details about Blackwell’s case, including how she died.
In an email, the coroner’s office said it hopes to release information soon.
KCRA 3 News asked if there is a backlog of cases holding up Blackwell’s report. We were told there is not.
Community and Family Efforts
July 2020 Petition 'Justice for Taylor Blackwell'
July 2020 Phone coroner for details
Additional Resources:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLxomNOgnC4 added July 28, 2020 22:55
- https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/sacramento-activists-raise-awareness-to-under-reported-issue-of-crime-against-black-women/103-18c83c61-ad73-4fa3-8699-42594e3e0dad added July 28, 2020 22:55
- https://saccityexpress.com/justice-for-taylor-blackwell/ added July 28, 2020 22:55
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3WNbqUMFIA added July 28, 2020 22:55
- https://deaddeath.com/taylor-blackwell-sacramento-death-19-year-old-found-dead-in-south-sacramento-taylor-blackwell-cause-of-death-died-dies/ added July 28, 2020 22:55
- https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/taylor-blackwells-friend-discuss-her-character-their-grief/103-43990873-4c9b-4ae0-9432-61dbcb30d8fa added July 28, 2020 22:55
- https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article244065052.html added July 28, 2020 22:55
- https://lailasnews.com/international/taylor-blackwell-sacramento-ca-death-obituary-taylor-blackwell-death/ added July 28, 2020 22:55
- https://www.kcra.com/article/what-we-know-about-the-taylor-blackwell-case/33410788?fbclid=IwAR3SHsg6B7nBGeg-9cdPizmbJLGzh2x4OSdUCRR7GG04SEFlr4TGqhzbwUg added July 28, 2020 22:39