Naman Shrestha
The episode titled ‘The Girl Who Looked Like Me’ of ABC’s ’20/20′ takes us back to the 2000s when the community of Spartanburg was shaken to the core after the sudden disappearance of Tamika Huston. Given the mysterious and suspicious circumstances under which she went missing, the police were quick to conclude that something sinister was at play. After several months of extensive investigation, the series of clues and evidence led them to the perpetrator responsible for the murder of Tamika. Whether it is the disturbing details pertaining to the case or the impact it had on the victim’s family, the episode manages to provide all the details of the case to the viewers with the help of exclusive interviews with Tamika’s family and friends and the officials connected to the investigation.
Remains of Tamika Huston Were Found a Year After She Went Missing From Her House
Tamika Antonette Huston was the loving and spirited daughter of Anthony Huston, who welcomed her into the world on December 11, 1979. The Spartanburg, South Carolina native grew up into a sociable woman who had the ability to light up even the dullest of rooms with her bright and fun presence. When her chirpy personality caught the attention of Christopher Lamont Hampton, he was almost instantaneously smitten with her. After Tamika reciprocated the same feelings, they got into a relationship. The nursing student also owned a pet pit bull named Macy, with whom she was extremely close.
Everything seemed to be in place in Tamika’s life until she went missing from her Spartanburg house in May 2004. Since she lived alone, her loved ones only found out about her disappearance more than two weeks later, on June 14, after a welfare check was conducted. Her family suspected foul play because her beloved pit bull, who was pregnant at the time, was left all alone in the house. The authorities entered the property and found out that her dog had given birth and eaten her own puppies due to hunger.
Immediately, a search for the missing woman was launched. Several days later, on June 20, Tamika’s 1991 black Honda was found abandoned at Barksdale Apartments, and inside the car was a set of keys that would prove to be critical in cracking the case open. Despite the best efforts from the detectives, it was only about a year later, in 2005, that her remains were found buried in a wooded area in Duncan near an industrial development off Tyger River Drive.
An Intense Argument With a Loved One Over Money Led to Tamika’s Death
While the authorities were investigating the disappearance of Tamika Huston, the keys that they found in her abandoned vehicle led them to a nearby apartment complex, which further led them to suspect her boyfriend, Christopher Lamont Hampton. Already in custody for unrelated charges, Christopher was questioned and interrogated by the detectives throughout the investigation. Upon searching his Freemont School Apartment house in January 2005, the police found traces of blood that matched the victim’s DNA. After that, the investigators had enough evidence to charge him for the murder of Tamika. So, before he was released in August 2005 from his previous charges, he faced murder charges and remained in custody.
Soon, he admitted his guilt to the detectives and confessed to the crime. According to his confession, Tamika and Christopher got into a heated argument over money on May 27, 2004, at the latter’s Freemont School Apartment residence. Since he had been involved with another woman who was pregnant with his child, the relationship between Tamika and Christopher was deteriorating. The argument started when she asked him for some money, and he refused to save it for his future child while ironing his clothes. He claimed that she then taunted him and asked if the child meant more to him than her; he snapped and threw the hot iron towards her. As per his accounts, it struck her head, and she fell down to the floor, unconscious.
In a state of panic, he borrowed a friend’s vehicle and bought some household cleaning supplies before putting Tamika’s body in the car and burying her in a secluded wooded area off Tyger River Drive in western Spartanburg County. To mark the burial site, he made a cross with two tree branches and left it on top of the makeshift grave. Suffocated with guilt and his desire to stay out of jail, Christopher returned to the site and dug up her remains, contemplating turning himself in. On second thought, he buried her again. However, more than a year later, when he was charged with the murder of Tamika, he couldn’t help but confess and lead the detectives to her remains. With his trial approaching, Christopher pleaded guilty to murder, after which he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 2006.
Read More: Christopher Lamont Hampton: Where is the Killer Now?
