In the winter of 2016, the city of Camden was struck by a tragedy that would become its first homicide of the year. On the cold evening of January 7th, 13-year-old Nathaniel Plummer Jr., a male student at Octavius V. Catto Community School, was found lying on a sidewalk at the corner of Beacon and Line streets. He had been shot. Rushed to Cooper University Hospital, he succumbed to his injuries in the early hours of the following morning, January 8th.
The city was left to grapple with the violent death of one of its youngest residents, an event that drew hundreds to his funeral, including the mayor, who made a public plea to end gun violence.
The investigation into Nathaniel's death quickly focused on another teenager, 17-year-old Casche Alford. Evidence, including text messages, placed her at the scene of the shooting. Investigators determined that on the night of the incident, Alford and Nathaniel were together in a van. Nathaniel was shot as he exited the vehicle. A motive for the killing was not clearly established, though it was reported that a friend had sent Nathaniel a Facebook message on the day of the shooting, warning him that Alford was planning to 'set him up.' Thirty minutes after the shooting, Nathaniel's mother, unaware of what had transpired, called Alford, who claimed to have dropped him off at his grandmother's house.
The case against Casche Alford solidified when ballistic evidence linked the. 380 caliber Hi-Point semiautomatic handgun used to kill Nathaniel to another shooting. Alford was also charged with the attempted murder of a 19-year-old man in October 2015 and the armed robbery of a cab driver in December 2015. Though she was a juvenile at the time of the crimes, the severity of the charges led to her case being moved to adult court. Alford eventually pleaded guilty to a charge of first-degree aggravated manslaughter for Nathaniel's death.
In January 2017, nearly a year after Nathaniel's life was cut short, Casche Alford, then 18, was sentenced for her crimes. She received a 30-year prison sentence for the death of Nathaniel Plummer Jr. She was also given seven-year sentences for the October 2015 shooting and the armed robbery, which were to be served concurrently with the longer sentence. The conclusion of the legal proceedings brought a measure of justice for Nathaniel's family and a community deeply affected by the loss of a young life.
