Who is Falicia Blakely and what did she do?

May 2024 · 5 minute read

In 2002, Falicia Blakely, a 19-year-old from Atlanta, along with her accomplice Ameshia Ervin, went on a twenty-four-hour crime spree on the orders of her boyfriend, later identified as an older man named Michael Berry. They murdered three men, Raymond Goodwin, Claudel Christmas, and Lemetrius Twitty, while robbing various fast food restaurants across the city.

The duo were arrested after a week-long run and eventually pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including murder and armed robbery. Blakely was handed three life sentences without the possibility of parole, while her accomplice Ervin took a plea deal to testify against the former in exchange for consecutive sentences with the possibility of parole.

Snapped on Oxygen is set to revisit the crimes of Falicia Blakely from two decades ago, in an episode titled Falicia Blakely. The synopsis states:

"After three Atlanta men are gunned down in the span of three days, detectives connect the murders to two exotic dancers; knowing only their stage names, investigators race to find the women and uncover the motive behind this devastating crime spree."

Falicia Blakely's troubled early life, a pivotal move to Atlanta, and a brutal crime spree

Born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, to a single mother, Falicia Blakely had a somewhat difficult childhood. Her father didn’t play an active role in her life and her mother was preoccupied with everything but the well-being of her own daughter. Falicia would often spend time with her grandmother in New York.

She relocated to Atlanta with her mother when she was 15 or 16 years old. There, she started working as an exotic dancer, dropped out of high school, and moved out after she began making sufficient money. By then, she also had a child of her own.

She soon met an older man, later identified as Michael Berry. Berry had been in and out of prison several times, but claimed to love Falicia Blakely, even helping her support her child.

In August 2002, Blakely, who was only 19 at the time, committed three murders with her accomplice Ameshia Ervin. On August 15, Blakely and Ervin robbed and killed 35-year-old Claudell Christmas and his friend Raymond Goodwin, 34, in an apartment belonging to one of the men. Both victims knew Blakely and Ervin.

After the killings, the two went to a bar in Atlanta's Buckhead neighborhood, where they met 29-year-old Lemetrius Twitty. With the promise of s*x, both ladies lured him back to his apartment, where they robbed and murdered him. According to official reports, although Twitty was murdered only hours later, his official death was on August 16.

The two women were arrested a week later at a diner called Mrs Winner’s. They were presumably about to rob the place, but the owner became suspicious and called the cops. When police arrived, Blakely and Ervin were in the bathroom. The cops also discovered that they were driving one of the victims' cars. After their arrest, they reportedly admitted to the murders.

Ameshia Ervin accepted a plea deal in which she agreed to testify against Falicia Blakely in exchange for consecutive life sentences and eligibility for parole in 14 years. Meanwhile, Blakely was handed three consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors initially sought the death penalty, but settled for life behind bars.

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