In-law indicted in death of daughter of poet Amiri Baraka

Jet, March 22, 2004

A 35-year-old man was recently indicted in the shooting deaths of the daughter of famed poet Amiri Baraka and her friend last year.

James Coleman was charged with murder and other crimes in the deaths of Shani Baraka, 31, and Rayshon Holmes, 30, of Irvington, NJ.

The women were killed in Shani Baraka's Piscataway, NJ, home last summer (JET, Sept. 1, 2003).

New Jersey prosecutors said Coleman carried out the killings "to cause pain to his wife," Wanda Wilson Pasha, who is Shani Baraka's sister. The women were killed in the home that Shani shared with her sister, Wanda Pasha.

Coleman surrendered five days after the killings and was charged with a series of crimes against his wife, including kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault and stalking.

Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan said no decision has yet been made as to whether his office will seek the death penalty.

Coleman remains in the Middlesex County Jail. He was expected to be arraigned at JET press time and prosecutors were expected to move at that time for a substantial increase in Coleman's current $150,000 bail.