Going West: True Crime - Celina Mays // 462

Episode Date: December 20, 2024

In December of 1996, a 12-year-old girl went missing from her New Jersey home overnight. Her family fell under suspicion when they took 24 hours to report the disappearance, and then weeks to publicize it. But investigators were even more wary of her family when it was revealed that they operated a religious cult, and later, were casually informed that this 12-year-old victim was pregnant. This is the story of Celina Mays. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What is going on true crime fans? I'm your host T and I'm your host Daphne and you're listening to going west. Hello everybody. Thank you so much for tuning in today and big Thank you to Irene and Kelly who recommended today's case this one is so shocking I think you guys are going to be absolutely Enraged at the details yeah I mean this one has a lot of like cult like behavior and abuse and it's truly an outrageous and Infuriating story, and I know you guys are gonna feel the same way So I don't think we really have much else to say about this Yeah

Well, we should just dive in because there's gonna be a lot of conversation in this one because I mean every single Detail and as the story unravels, it's just like mind-blowing. So let's go. All right guys. This is episode 462 of going west. so let's get into it. In December of 1996, a 12-year-old girl went missing from her New Jersey home overnight. Her family fell under suspicion when they took 24 hours to report her disappearance and then weeks to publicize it. But investigators were even more wary of her family when it was revealed that they operated a religious cult and later were casually informed that this 12-year-old victim was pregnant. This is the story of Selena Mays. The details of this story are as confounding as they are shocking, and even the young victims'

birthday is still up for debate. But the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children lists Selena Jeanette Mays birthday as May 21st 1984. She was born in Miami Florida to parents Lynn Vitale and Cresonzo or CJ Mays. And also since her mother Lynn had a son from a previous relationship Selena grew up with an older half-brother named Robert. Her father CJ worked as a rock musician and Lynn was an exotic dancer. Admittedly, CJ was not the father he wanted to be. He later divulged that he and Lynn had been quote irresponsible as young parents and they

drank heavily and used drugs together in their daughter's early childhood. He also admitted to being physically abusive to Lynn and did multiple stints in jail. I mean Lynn and Selena even had to live in women's homes a few times in order to get away from him. When Selena was very young the family eventually settled back in Palmyra, New Jersey near where CJ's extended family lived, but he and Lynn finally split up for good in 1990. Lynn and Selena were on their own at this point, but according to Lynn's family, they were very happy, and Lynn completely doted on Selena.

She was also able to stop using and found a job working as a custodian at a local school to support them. So she was really figuring her stuff out and being the best mom that she could be for Selena. Kind of flipped the script as a mother there. Yeah, absolutely. And especially helping get Selena away from her dad and just giving her the best life she could.

That was very important to Lynn. Though, meanwhile, unable to care for himself, CJ moved in with his sister, Sarita Smith, which was a decision that may later have a direct correlation to his daughter, Selena's disappearance. CJ became heavily involved with his sister's church after this move, which was basically a passion project for her that kind of placed her in this big seat of power and at the center of this, you know, kind of universe that she created.

Serita Smith ran a congregation called the Gospel of Christ Ministries Incorporated, a small community with 20 to 60 members, but that number very much varies depending on who you ask. Though spearheaded entirely by Sarita, the church was really only comprised of a few overlapping families. Sarita and her husband purchased an old Catholic Church in Mount Holly, New Jersey, about 30 miles or 48 kilometers outside of Philadelphia, in a building which

was later described as a shabby red brick structure. Despite its lack of modern amenities, many members of the church resided there. Another 20 or so lived in a house owned by Sarita and her husband in Wheelingboro, New Jersey about 10 minutes away. And, actually, this home that I'm talking about right now is where today's story takes place. But first, after splitting up with Lynn, CJ moved into the Willingborough home and began working as the church's bookkeeper. He then met and married a woman named Yvette,

and together they had a daughter named Nori, who is Selena's little sister. Now the church's teachings are based on those in the King James Version of the Old Testament of the Bible, and the services are said to have been intense and involved dancing, singing, and speaking in tongues. It was a severely insular community, the children of the group were not allowed to play with other kids, and the adults were discouraged from fraternizing with, befriending, or dating anyone outside the congregation. So they had extremely strict rules. Right, so they're basically trying to keep it all in the big strange family here. Yeah, and

be very, very controlling. Well, on Sundays, members would spend their entire day at church, attending three separate ceremonies with breaks in between. Though the devotees were few, those that Sarita had gotten to join were staunch supporters of their cause and her vision for the future of their church. And as you guys can probably imagine, most members of the church did not have outside jobs and instead spent their days fundraising for Gospel of Christ. They rallied donations from nearby suburbs and organized fundraisers,

and some of the adult members also sold products from Mary Kay, which many of us know is a multi-level marketing cosmetics company. For the children of the group, who were not permitted to attend school, they were tasked with selling soft pretzels in area shopping centers. Yeah, so this is giving you more of an idea of what this group is like, what this church is like. Exactly. Well, all of the kids were homeschooled as well, but their education consisted only of

the teachings of the church, nothing else. Geez. Yeah, so it's getting a little culty already. One former member of Gospel of Christ said that Sarita, quote, rules the small community through fear. She even lost her minister's license years prior due to her unorthodox and unprofessional practices. Sarita obtained her license in 1988 from the Christ Gospel Churches International, which is a Pentecostal Christian organization with its headquarters in Jeffersonville, Indiana. But after the organization began receiving complaints about Sarita, Christ Gospel Churches

International conducted a full investigation, which included an interview with Sarita and a visit to her church. Barbara Young, who was a legal counsel for the organization, concluded, quote, As a result of the investigation, we felt that it was in the best interests of our ministry if we were to disassociate ourselves. Sarita was then stripped of her license and sued her defectors for libel and slander. But during her tenure, she wound up with multiple lawsuits under her belt, accusing her of brainwashing her followers and, of course, running a cult.

One former church member named Mayo Goldman said of Sarita, quote, Her goal was to have a separate community that was self-sufficient and to run it all. According to CJ, against Selena Mae's dad, Lynn was very wary of his involvement in the church and also described it as a cult, which angered CJ and his family, which I feel like is a surefire sign that Lynn's assessment was absolutely correct. Yes it was. Her friends and family even recalled her saying that should anything happen to her, she did not want Selena to end up in CJ's care because of the church. That is how much Lynn did not agree

with what they were doing there. Lynn reportedly even said that she didn't want Selena around her Aunt Serita. That is how much she didn't trust her. A member of the church for six years, a woman named Linda said that she recalls Lynn saying quote, no matter what happens, I do not want Selena to end up in Sarita's hands. At the time of you know that she was kind of saying all this, the risk of that happening was extremely low because CJ found himself behind on child support payments and was not permitted to even see their daughter anyway.

Until 1994 when disaster struck the family and Lynn's worst nightmare for her daughter would come true. Lynn actually suffered a brain aneurysm shortly before her daughter's 10th birthday and sadly she died very suddenly. Now initially Lynn's friends took her in and you know, just made sure that she was safe and taken care of, but this is only a temporary measure. Lynn left behind six siblings, all of whom welcome custody of Selena,

but CJ was prepared to put up a fight for her. Thus, a bitter custody battle ensued, and CJ later said that he believed this was due to the family's racism against him, while they claimed that it was due to Lynn's wishes based on his involvement in this very scary cult-like church. So Lynn's sister fought for custody, but CJ ended up receiving full custodial rights over his 10-year-old daughter, Selena Mays,

moving her into the packed family home and thus beginning Selena's involvement in her family's church. And I have to say, it is so foreboding that Lynn almost had the foresight to tell her family and friends that if anything happened, she didn't want Selena to go with her dad and then that is exactly what ended up happening. That's incredibly sad that she had that foresight and she had that warning and then all of a sudden just randomly she passes away. Especially because, like I said, it didn't seem likely that that was gonna happen at all

and freak things happen all the time, but she had full custody, CJ was not even allowed to see Selena, and now suddenly he has full custody. Like, what? It was almost like this really eerie fate. Absolutely, and also I'm sure that what I'm saying about Selena moving into this house

was another reason that Lin did not want Selena potentially ever living with CJ because he lived in Sarita's home with nearly 20 other people. It was reportedly around 15 people. Like this was, this was a communal home and living in the house were multiple children, including Nori, Selena and Yvette's son from a previous relationship plus CJ and Yvette and a few of Sarita's five children including her son Sean Smith who was married to a woman named Jennifer. But despite this he went on to father five children with four different women from the church. And please remember this because we're going to talk a lot about Sean. Remember,

he is married. He has five kids from four different women all within this cult he asked church. But strangely, Sean usually stayed at the house in Willingborough while his wife and children stayed at the church. So he didn't even live with them. And I think we know why and you guys will find out very soon. wife and children stayed at the church so he didn't even live with them and I think we know why and you guys will find out very soon. And we are gonna post a photo of the house for anybody who wants a visual but for these 15 or so people

it was a five-bedroom three bathroom house and it totaled 2,500 square feet. It's in a charming very green neighborhood and here's how the layout has been described Now the ground floor had two bedrooms But the garage was also utilized for sleeping and housed Dormitory style beds throughout it to make one giant bedroom Then upstairs on the second floor there were three bedrooms and the home overlooks a golf course in the back And then a creek So yeah, if we're including the garage as a bedroom that is about six sleeping rooms for over 15 people

And these are you know multiple married couples children other adults It's you know, and all of them are a part of the church They're not all blood family members, but they are all in the same community Well to go into that a little bit further in the home was also Tawana who was a teenager that wasn't related to the family by blood but was taken in by Sarita and housed there in the Willingborough house Tawana was one of five children and according to Sarita house. Tawana was one of five children and according to Sarita, her mother came to Sarita telling

her that she couldn't afford to live in Willingborough and care for her children anymore. So Sarita did what she usually does and she employed her usual tactics to ply members into her church and put up a front as a caring motherly figure offering to take Tawana in out of the supposed goodness of her heart. She was then able to gain temporary full custody of Tawana, telling the court that her mother was addicted to drugs. Whether or not this is true, you know, we're unsure, but this is what Sarita claimed. So at this point, Tawana is under Sarita's care and control and was forced to live within

the confines of the church, including helping with their exploitative fundraising efforts. But for Selena, Tawana's presence was actually a gift because she was like a big sister figure for her, and Tawana described Selena as both a friend and a god sister. Tawana later said that Selena was wise beyond her years and a quote, sweet, loving girl. And because she was trapped in her family's parochial community, Selena was not allowed to live like other children her age, and had few interests and hobbies of her own. However, it's remembered that she loved to sing in the church choir and was very active and outdoorsy.

She also liked riding her bike, jumping rope, and roller skating. And that must have been such a big change for her. She was in a loving home with her mother, she was living a life like a normal 10 year old kid, and now suddenly she is in this communal environment. She's living with so many different people that she doesn't really know, and she can't do the things that she's used to doing. She can't just simply be a kid. There's so many strict rules and regulations and guidelines. But with this came something that was much more serious than not being able to ride your

bike or hang out with your friends because in early 1996, Tawana remembers 11-year-old Selena confiding in her that she was afraid that she had gotten pregnant. Now obviously stunned by this, Tawana asked how this could have happened to Selena because she was so young. Well, Selena admitted for the first time that her cousin, Sean Smith, Serita's son, had been the one who is married and has five children. To four different women. Yes, had been sneaking into Selena's bed at night and raping her.

And to put this into a more horrifying perspective, he was in his early 20s at this time. This is a grown man, you know, he again, he has kids of his own. He's married and he's choosing to live in this house. And that's why I said, I feel like I know why. And it's because of what he was doing in this house. Well, yeah, this guy is a predator.

He is a disgusting piece of shit. Well, get this because not only was Tawana disgusted to hear this, but it was all too familiar because Sean had been doing this same thing to her for years. She had even gotten pregnant from the assault as well, yet Sean convinced her to keep it a secret and sneak out to undergo an abortion, to which Tawana agreed. And coincidentally, at the time that Selena feared that she was pregnant, Tawana said she also thought she was again pregnant from Sean's abuse. Now, with no resources or money of her own, she's a young teenager,

and of course, the need to keep this a secret, Tawana had to try to steal a pregnancy test from a local store, but she was caught doing so and returned home without one. But fearing Serita's wrath, she ran away from home and was soon found sleeping behind a school. A janitor reported this to the police and Tijuana was again returned to the abusive household that Serita's Willingborough home was.

Forced to come clean about their suspicions, both girls were tested under false names, but only one pregnancy test was positive. It was Selena's. Their church, which was firmly against premarital sex, as if the girls had consented to this. Yeah, obviously they did not. Was reportedly not accepting of Selena's

pregnancy despite it being a result of repeated sexual abuse by the leader of the church's own son. That is so madness. It's so insane to me. I literally it makes me so mad. So this means that Selena was blamed for what was done to her. Some congregants even remember Selena's stepmother, a vet counseling her, listen to this, against being flirtatious with members of the opposite sex when she was as young as 10 years old. These people, I just, these people,

these people are sick, they're evil, they don't have a single clue. And how dare them, how dare them try to blame, blame this on an 11 year old girl who was being abused. I mean, you're absolutely right. They are evil people. Well, initially, Selena wanted to have an abortion, knowing that she was not ready to bear a child only months after turning 12. she was not ready to bear a child only months after turning 12. But she was forbidden from doing so because of the church's staunch anti-abortion policy. When she came around to the idea of bringing her baby into the world, and even found herself to be somewhat excited at the prospect, she was denied a baby shower because she was told that it was not something to be celebrated.

So she can't terminate her unwanted pregnancy after she was assaulted, and she can't try to make the most of it by celebrating it? Like, what do you want from her? Well, it just appears that they want to control her. Though everybody in the house later disputed this claim that she wasn't allowed to celebrate her pregnancy, Tawana explained that everybody in the house was aware of the identity of Selena's baby's father and how she had come to be pregnant. Meaning they know that it was Sean

and they know that he had assaulted her. Yes, but in Sarita's eyes, her children, and especially Sean, could do no wrong. And no one was doing anything to protect Selena from her abuser and rapist. CJ and Serita's daughter Nori, remember Selena's younger sister, later called Serita an enabler of Sean's behavior, and that being the pastor's son, he had free reign to do whatever he wanted because everybody was scared of Sarita. Nori remembered quote,

We had a staircase. My auntie Sarita, she would sit at the top of the staircase, and whoever was in trouble had to come to the bottom of the staircase and be what we called rebuke. It was her rage, her anger, and she could unleash it upon anyone. On Sunday, December 15th, 1996, the day before 12-year-old Selena's disappearance, the family attended church together as usual, though their usual Sunday evening service had been canceled. attended church together as usual, though their usual Sunday evening service had been cancelled. Instead, a few of the kids in the house ate ice cream together for dessert, and then Selena said goodnight to her family. Her housemates and family members noted later that she made a point of thanking them for their

support and heading upstairs to bed around 11 p.m. Yvette said later, later quote remember Avet is her stepmom quote I guess that was her way of saying goodbye what the fuck like how how would she even know why would how would you come to that conclusion I guess that was her way of saying goodbye like no what

remember that though because that is not the right attitude okay so to want to added that Selena would kiss her family good night every night before bed. And that night was no exception. On the morning of Monday, December 16th, 1996, Selena was the only person missing at the table at breakfast. Yvette sent her daughter Nori, only four years old at the time, upstairs to get her older sister.

And initially, Nori called into Selena's room to wake her, and then returned downstairs. But when Selena still didn't come down, Nori went back up to her sister's room and realized that what she thought was Selena asleep under the covers was actually a line of pillows covered with a blanket. So confused, Nori reported her findings to her family waiting downstairs. She later recalled, quote, I went into her room and all I saw was pillows covered with a sheet. Little did I know from that moment on, my family's life journey would be altered forever. And of course, from first glance,

this feels, just by what we know about these crazy people, this feels like a cover-up. Yeah, and I also do want to mention, because it's worth noting, that in some versions of this story, Norey only checks once and then sees the pillows, and by Tawana's account, she doesn't actually remember seeing the pillows at all.

Only Selena's covers pulled back from the bed. So it doesn't make... I mean, it does kind of make a difference if it seems like it's supposed to be a staged runaway or something. Sure. But also, let us remember that Nori was four years old. So it makes sense if there's discrepancies of memory because I don't remember shit from when I was four.

Very true. So Tawana headed upstairs to check for herself and couldn't find any sign of Selena. Her purse remained there as well as her prenatal vitamins and a CD that was reportedly treasured by Selena. The only thing missing from the room was Selena and her red coat. So she didn't take anything with her. Not that she ran away. I just mean like nothing was missing. So if she did go anywhere, that's something we'll bring up later is that it's not like

she packed a bag or anything like that. So Yvette called her husband CJ, who was already at the church, and wondered if Selena went with him to work that morning but he said that he hadn't seen her since the previous evening when she headed to bed. Then a few of the kids went outside to check the street on the off chance that Selena had gone outside for a walk but they saw no sign of her outside either. Well for reasons that the family didn't explain they waited until the next day to report Selena's disappearance.

On Tuesday, December 17th, 1996, so about 24 hours after they realized that Selena had vanished, CJ headed to the police station to make a report, which officers noted wasn't common. You know, generally panic-stricken families call police to come to their home, or you know, the last place that they knew their child had been seen. But officers were called CJ's calm, measured demeanor, and that he even mentioned to them that her disappearance was quote, in God's hands. God, I hate this guy. He also seemed convinced that she had run away and that she would be back, so there

didn't seem to be any urgency in the matter. Which is concerning in itself, because not only is she 12 years old, but she is 9 months pregnant. Well, in an interview months later, CJ remarked, quote, she made some bad choices. She's probably content right now being a mother. I don't think she had any idea that it would go this far, but she'll call once she starts pining for her father or gets in need." And then he added, quote, we remain prayerful.

Insane. I want to punch this guy in the face. She may imagine your daughter goes missing and your first thought is, well, she made some bad choices. She's probably fine like in what? How do you as a father? How do you if as a father like not get pissed off and want to literally? You know the guy that abused your daughter and got her pregnant like how are you? So content with the fact that she was abused and now she's missing? This is a bad dad.

Bad, bad dad. So again, Selena was being blamed for being promiscuous despite being too young to consent to sex, especially with her cousin, mind you. But her stepmom, Yvette, agreed with her husband's assessment saying, quote, "'Even the pastor would counsel her. Selena made bad choices.

Now all this mudslinging and stuff has come. In those first few days after Selena vanished, Tawana recalls that the congregation and even her family seemed to move on, and that no one was discussing Selena's disappearance at all. And because of the lack of urgency, police waited until Friday, December 20th to report to the home and speak with its residents. So sadly, this lost them precious time and earned them a ton of criticism later. So finally, officers reported to the communal home in Willingborough, but CJ refused to let them inside. Why?

And would only speak with them in front of the house. Well, of course we know why. Because they're doing highly illegal and terrible shit inside that house, and they don't want the police coming in and finding any evidence of his wrongdoing. True, and he also initially declined to reveal that Selena was an extremely vulnerable victim, not just due to her young age, but because of the fact that, again, she was nine months pregnant and could be going into labor any minute. So he's not, he wasn't pushing this to the police at all, saying, hey, help find my daughter.

This is a dire, a dire time. She, she's out there somewhere and she needs help. At this point, we know that these people don't care. And we pretty much know that they want Selena gone. Well, actually while speaking with police, CJ casually mentioned that his daughter was pregnant, which was a stunning development for investigators because he didn't even say that initially. Like he didn't even say,

hey, my pregnant 12 year old daughter is missing. He just said my daughter is missing and I'm sure she'll call. I'm sure she'll come back. So they were like, wait a second, what? Because not only was there a chance that her nearing due date was the reason for her disappearance, but at 12 years old and having conceived at 11, the baby's father had broken a New Jersey state law and had sex with a minor well under 15 years old, someone who was unable to consent to sex.

And of course, cult mama and the rest of the cult members are covering for him. Well, it was of great interest of the police to learn who this person was because regardless of his age or identity, a crime was committed and a crime was now involved in this disappearance. So now, in addition to her disappearance, they were investigating a case of child sexual assault that resulted in a pregnancy. And even to police, it seemed like a distinct possibility that the baby's father knew this and was trying to get rid of her and the baby. The family also divulged that they were planning on performing blood tests to determine the baby's paternity, which is something that CJ claimed Selena was afraid of.

However, CJ swore to police that even he and his family didn't know the identity of the father, that Selena wouldn't tell them, which was reportedly a lie. CJ swore to police that even he and his family didn't know the identity of the father. That Selena wouldn't tell them, which was reportedly a lie. Yeah, because they all knew. They all knew that it was Shawn. So by the time CJ spoke with investigators, Selena's due date was coming up in nine days on December 29, 1996. She had actually met with her obstetrician Dr. Dolores Williams the

Friday before her disappearance which was December 13th and was already a centimeter dilated. Dr. Williams also informed her that she would likely require a cesarean section because this is such a devastating detail but her pelvis was not yet developed enough to facilitate a vaginal delivery at only 12 years old. That is a detail that makes me so sick to my stomach. So obviously, you know, all of this information was extremely alarming and suspect for detectives, who promptly requested to search the premises for any clues.

But because it was Serita who owned the home, the permission would have to come, of course, from her. Unsurprisingly, she declined to grant them entry into her home. The Willingborough Police Department even went so far as to file a request for a search warrant with a judge, but sadly, the judge denied the motion due to the fact that there was no proof that a crime had taken place at that home. The police department also requested to search the church where the rest of the congregation, including Sarita, lived. And of course, this request was also denied. However, there are some discrepancies here that are lost to the passage of time.

Some family members later claimed that Sarita only objected to the search of the church property, and not, you know, the other home that was not on the church property. Well, another source claimed that it was the church that police were permitted to walk through, but not the house. But now that the church is disbanded and no longer owns either property, it is impossible to know of what capacity they were searched, especially since the police have not publicized their search efforts.

As Selena's case gained attention in her community, the church discouraged anybody from talking to the police. Which is such a bad look, by the way. Yeah, it's a terrible look, and the accusations against the gospel of Christ Church continued, though now on a national stage. And of course, many people described it as a cult, a claim which even past members corroborated. However, to nobody's surprise, indoctrinated members held strong to their convictions. Because they're in the cult. Exactly.

Well, CJ told a reporter quote, "...our focus right now is on Selena. All of the other stuff is just a personal vendetta and stupid accusations. There is a balance to this. It will come forth." But one thing that I absolutely do love about this story is that the public was not buying any of this BS. One article detailing her disappearance was so critical of the church's involvement

in her disappearance that it printed, quote, any attempt to draw a portrait of Selena must include this church. Though Sarita was mostly uncooperative, she did speak with investigators intermittently, though whether she told them the truth is not clear. At one point in the weeks following Selena's disappearance, she told investigators that she believed the identity

of Selena's baby's father was a 16-year-old boy from a nearby suburb whom Selena had met at a local skating rink. But because Selena wasn't allowed to hang out with anyone outside of her church, didn't attend school, couldn't drive, and didn't have any money, how she would have been able to get to the skating rink and meet this boy is a mystery. So her saying this just doesn't make sense with the lifestyle that she enforced upon

Selena. Yeah, she's a liar. Well CJ agreed with her assessment of course, and wondered whether Selena was choosing to keep his identity a secret in order to shield him from the legal ramifications of their sexual relationship. He also admitted to police that he had a vasectomy years before her disappearance to prevent rumors of incest and motive. So to me, he's clearly trying to point the blame away from the family,

away from the church, away from the home, all while trying to put a good front forward for the church to continue this horrific cycle of abuse, power, and cult activity. And I think that that vasectomy comment is disgusting. It's 100% disgusting. Like, Why would you even need to say that? It's gross. We're talking about your daughter, your 12 year old daughter. Why do you need to say that? Luckily police didn't seem to like him either and they claim that CJ became uncooperative

during the investigation and lost touch with them as time went on, which is shocking when you remember that this is the father of the victim that we're talking about. Police also spoke with Selena's obstetrician, Dr. Williams, who had heard the story about this, you know, alleged 16-year-old from a neighboring town, the one whose Selena's family was trying to convince people fathered Selena's baby.

And it really is disappointing because this woman, Dr. Williams, should have been a safe space for Selena as her doctor, and also because she was one of only a few adults in Selena's life who was not involved in the church. However, she was a family friend of the Smiths, and, you know, Serita Smith, Sean Smith, and was hired by Serita to act as Selena's doctor with cash payments made under the table.

And this was kept off the books of the clinicians practice. So this doctor was already doing wrong that way and was not in any way trying to help Selena or her situation. They will go as far as they have to go to cover up anything that happens within this church. Yeah, because if they do it the right way on top of the table, and she's on the books, and there's reports of this, there's actual evidence that this pregnancy happened, then that could bode negatively for the family if anybody finds out who actually did this to her.

Well, Christmas came, then Selena's due date, and then New Year's. All of these holidays passed with no word from Selena. Finally, in January of 1997, CJ and the police publicly announced her disappearance, and Selena began receiving attention from the press. Like many other aspects of this case, the motivation behind waiting to do so remains a mystery. The theory that she ran away is pervasive, and a distinct possibility because if Selena had gotten pregnant by a boy outside of her tight church circle

They could have run away together or his family could have taken her in However given the behavior of her family and the church in the aftermath of her disappearance This seems pretty unlikely. Yeah, I mean we kind of have to say this because of course there is no Physical proof or proof of any kind that Sean was the father of Selena's baby. This is mostly coming from Tawana, but it does seem to make the most sense. Well, on top of this, Lin's family, who of course is Selena's mother, has also been blamed for taking Selena in for her own safety, to get away from Serita, Sean, the church, and the abuse

that she was suffering, and to create a new, safer life for her and her baby. CJ said that he pushed the police to do a search of the houses belonging to the people in Lynn's family, but that they never did so. However, police acknowledged that, unlike CJ and Serita's family, Lynn's family was entirely cooperative with the investigation and wanted nothing more than to assist in finding her. But also he says that, CJ says that as though Lynn's family wants anything negative for Selena

when all they tried to do from the beginning was protect her and do right by her. And he's saying, oh, well, look into them. What? Yeah, you don't need to look into Lynn's family. We need to look into you and your church family. Yeah. While all of Lynn's siblings denied the claims

that they were involved, and were in fact shocked and appalled at the news of both the pregnancy and her disappearance, news that they didn't receive until months later. Though CJ had accused them of orchestrating this strange abduction, her family countered his accusation with their own, and said that CJ had been attempting to keep Selena away from them since Lynn died, and since Lynn's sister lost the custody dispute. They claimed that two years of gifts and correspondence had gone unanswered.

Selena's older half-brother Robert said that he had spoken with Selena only once on the phone since their mom died, and that when they did, CJ was attempting to dissuade her from speaking with him. Serita mostly refused to speak with the press, but she did say through a church representative, quote, "...all the past are experienced is people taking her word and twisting it. It's better to say nothing than to give anyone an opportunity to twist it. All she wants is her niece to be found. If it's not obvious,

the pastor is Sarita. Now, despite their protests, police did also speak with some members of Sarita's family, including Sean Smith. Through the anonymous tip line, police heard Sean's name mentioned multiple times, tipped off as being the father of her baby. On January 10th, 1997, Sean voluntarily spoke with police,

telling them that he had been sleeping at the time that she disappeared. Really good alibi you got there buddy. He also denied being the father and said that he had no idea who the actual father was or what had happened to Selena. Sadly, detectives had no indication to the contrary because it was truly as though Selena had vanished. So all they could really do was hope that he would give them something to work with or take a polygraph. But when they asked him about the polygraph, he said that he would think about it, but

of course never followed up and didn't end up taking it. Because after that conversation, Serita secured a lawyer for her son. Thus, unfortunately, the investigation had to press on without his help. In the months following Selena's disappearance, dozens of reports of sightings came in, as they do. Even ones believed to be reputable from a restaurant and a hair salon, but none were ever substantiated and some were even debunked. Investigators scanned the church grounds

and the home from above with helicopters and thermal imaging, and cadaver dogs were brought in to search the parameters of the properties, but they found nothing. The FBI even became involved, but they were tight-lipped on their findings if they came upon anything

of importance at all. America's Most Wanted ran a segment on Selena, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children mounted their own efforts as well. Flyers and postcards went out for years, some using age-progress photos, but none of this ever led to finding Selena or her baby. So at this point, 28 years later, theories are all that remain. If CJ's former accusation that maybe Lynn's family was sheltering her is true, then she never revealed herself, nor did she ever cash in on her mother's life insurance policy,

money that was left specifically for her. If she was a runaway like her family thought, why hadn't she brought anything with her? Even her beloved diaper bag, a gift from Tawana. I could understand maybe having the theory that she ran away for the safety of herself and her baby, but with this having happened in December of 1996, six years later, so in 2002, she would have turned 18. So why she wouldn't come forward to police or how there wouldn't be concrete sightings of her after is very suspicious to me. And especially now, it is December of 2024 when this episode is coming out and now she would be 40 and her baby would be 28.

And just with the type of culty church stuff going on around her, the abuse, her toxic family... I mean, so naturally, the most pervasive theory is that Selena was murdered by a member or members of her own family in order to protect Sean from the legal ramifications of having raped and impregnated his 11-year-old cousin. Or that Sean himself was involved. Yes. But CJ swore until the end of his life that he knew nothing about this, if it did in fact take place. A Facebook group dedicated to survivors of the Gospel of Christ Church claimed that in the weeks following Selena's disappearance,

Sarita held her services in the rectory next door to the church, and a rectory is known as the clergy house or the pastor's house typically, and she said that she was doing this due to issues with the church's furnace. Many of their services were held in the basement of the property instead. So is it possible that this change was made for those few specific weeks because they were working to conceal Selena's remains? I believe so. Well just over a year after Selena went missing in January of 1998, Sean, who was 23 years old at this point, was arrested for

sexually assaulting two girls who were 13 and 14 at the time of the abuse. So obviously this just proves that he was predatory and abusive towards young teenagers and tween girls. Now actually one of these girls was Tawana and the other was another young member of the church, proving even more that this abuse was happening within the home and the church. But Sean posted a $50,000 bail likely paid for by his mother Sarita, though he was barred from contact with any children outside of his direct family. But remember, when he was doing this, he had five young kids of his own and a wife.

I don't even think it matters that he wasn't allowed to be around teen girls outside of the church because he was doing all of this predatory shit within the church. I wouldn't even trust him around his own kids. Exactly. Well, at the time, he was working as a self-proclaimed music producer and a security guard.

However, unfortunately, the charges against him were later dropped, and Tawana is not aware of why this even happened. So guess what? He served no prison time for what he had done. Makes you mad. That same year on what would have been Selena's 14th birthday, Selena's aunt on Lynn's side, Cindy Cram, announced, quote, We don't want to believe it, but we don't think she's alive. We wonder now if she ever left that church.

She added, quote, Sometimes you go with your gut feeling and I still don't feel that she was alive. I think they shut her up." And this is somebody who knows what these people are like, what they do in their church. What they're capable of. Yeah, so for her to say, I think they shut her up and I wonder if she ever left that church, to me that speaks volumes because she's not some random outsider like us She is actually involved in the story and this is what she is thinking based on what she knows

well as of two years ago the case was still being investigated and Detective Monica Pogorzelski who inherited the cold case 25 years after it occurred Announced that they recently followed up on four new leads. She says she still thinks about the case daily. Police can't share much that they've learned in the past two and a half decades, but have reported that if something nefarious is to blame for Selena's disappearance, then it was most likely a family member. Sadly, so much of Selena's story, even the most basic details, are shrouded in mystery, because so many of the people who were supposed to be protecting her were protecting their own interests instead.

The church disbanded over a decade ago, and many living elders of the church have refused to talk. According to the Facebook group, the ministry had a driver named Keith Burns and he has continued to refuse to talk as well, even going so far as to agree to meet with investigators and then disappearing on them. Selena's father CJ passed away in 2017 and Sarita followed in 2018 Sean Smith was later convicted of mail fraud after stealing from a nonprofit Organization for children and was sentenced to 18 months in prison and then weirdly he died in 2020 Rest in piss shitheads. Yeah, I mean I've never heard that. Yeah, agreed Rest in piss shitheads. Yeah, I mean, I've never heard that. Yeah, agreed.

It's just kind of weird to me that they died 2017, 2018, then 2020, and now they're all just gone. This year, Selena would be 40 years old and her child would be 28. Selena was 5 feet tall and weighed 120 pounds. She had long wavy brown hair and brown eyes. If you have any information about the disappearance of Selena Mays, please call the Willingborough Police Department at 609-877-2200. Thank you so much everybody for listening to this episode of Going West. Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode. If you want to see photos from this case, head on over to our socials.

We're on Instagram at Going West podcast. We're also on Facebook and I would love to hear what you guys think about this devastating story. Yeah, and please share the missing poster that we're gonna make and post for Selena. It's just so important to keep spreading the word on her story because I mean, just from what we know, we know very little, but from at least what we know

that she experienced was so horrific. the things that were done within that church and in that house were just not right. And she deserves so much justice. So please, please share this story. And yeah, let us know your thoughts. And of course, there's probably so much that the public and everybody else around the world is not going to know because of how tight-lipped this community was, because they were covering for their own people.

Well, thank you guys so much for tuning into this one, and we'll see you on Tuesday. Alright, guys, so for everybody out there in the world, don't be a stranger. Music Thanks for watching!