Left and Center: Jamal circa, 1990
Right: Age Progressed to age 31
Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
Missing Since: April 16, 1990
Missing From: Richmond, Richmond City County, Virginia
Classification: Non-Family Abduction
Date Of Birth: August 12, 1982
Age: 7 years old
Height and Weight: 4’5″ and 47 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: African American Male, Black hair, Brown eyes, Jamal has a scar on his right eyebrow, he has a mole on his temple above his left ear, Jamal had a distinctive gap between his upper front teeth at the time of his disappearance
Clothing/Jewelry Description: A gray/red fleece baseball jacket, a black Batman t-shirt, blue jeans, and white sneakers
NCMEC Number: 737806
Details of Disappearance
Jamal was last seen with his brother, Basil, in Richmond, Virginia on April 16th 1990. The boys were dropped off at their mother, Tambra Ellis’s home by their stepmother in the 1700 block of Clarkson Road. At 2:30 pm, the two boys went outside to play in the front yard while their mother slept. She was tired from working the nightshift the day before.
She eventually woke from her nap and went to look for her boys. She could not find them and started to worry. After she looked for 45 minutes, she called the police to report her two sons as missing children. The two never returned to their moms home and were never seen or heard from again.
Extensive searches of the area took place but neither brother was found. No one in the apartments reported seeing anything strange or hear anything strange. Nearby wooded areas were also searched with no indications of their whereabouts.
Investigators believe that both boys were the victims of foul play. On April 19th, investigators discovered Basil’s body in a Chesterfield County landfill. The landfill was approximately 10 miles away from the home they disappeared from. Basils body was fully clothed when it was discovered.
Basil had been bound, gagged, and stabbed twice in the back, killing him. His skull was also fractured but this occurred after his murder. Whoever killed him placed his body in a garbage bag and put it in a dumpster. It was then transported to the landfill from there.
Investigators initially detained the boys father, Everett Abdul’Faruq. They held him for three hours under the belief that the child had been injured or killed inside his home. A search of his property had turned up nothing. He was never named as a suspect in the case even though he did refuse a lie detector test. He said this was due to his Muslim views.
Both his mother and father have been ruled out as suspects and cleared in the investigation into Jamal’s disappearance and Basil’s murder. Investigators suspect that the boys were abducted by a stranger. They consider the possibility that Jamal might still be alive.
At the time of his disappearance, Jamal enjoyed watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He was a second grade student at E.S.H Green Elementary School and his favorite food was pizza. His disappearance remains unsolved and foul play is suspected.
Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Richmond Police Department 804-780-6748
Source Information
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children