No Human Involved: The Serial Murder of Black Women and Girls and the Deadly Cost of Police Indifference

by Cheryl L. Neely

An urgent examination of the invisibility of Black women and girls as victims of targeted killings, and the lack of police intervention and media coverage

When Black women and girls are targeted and murdered their cases are often categorized by police officers as “N.H.I.” – “No Humans Involved.” Dehumanized and invisible to the public eye, they are rarely seen as victims. In the United States, Black women are killed at a higher rate than any other group of women, but their victimhood is not covered by the media and their cases do not receive an adequate level of urgency.

Utilizing intensive historical research of cases in cities such as Boston, Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit, and Los Angles, Cheryl Neely calls attention to serial cases of Black female murder victims and a lack of police action. Neely approaches each case and story with detailed care. Instead of focusing solely on the killings and the murderers, she highlights the lives of the women and girls and their communities that never stopped fighting for justice. With media neglect and police indifference, Neely argues that because law enforcement is less likely to conduct serious investigations into the disappearances and homicides of Black women, they are particularly vulnerable to become victims.

Diving deep into the unseen and unheard, Neely uses personal interviews, court records, media reports, and analytical data to understand how and why Black women are disproportionately more likely to die from homicide in comparison to their white counterpoints. Sounding an urgent alarm, No Human Involved contends that it is time for Black women’s lives to matter not only to their families and communities, but especially to those commissioned to protect them.

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime, Crime, Audiobook, History, Race, Politics

Audible Audio

First published January 21, 2025

About the author

Cheryl L. Neely is Professor of Sociology at Oakland Community College where she teaches courses in Sociology and Criminology.

(from http://msupress.org/books/contributor...)

Reviews

[sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

i don't usually rate nonfic but i can't stress enough how well-researched, smart, and relevant this was. every time i was like 'hey well good point, but what about this thing?' it was brought up immediately after i had that thought. i don't know of another book like this and it's genuinely so important that it exists. obviously this is a tough read but i would tell anyone who considers themselves a "true crime fan" that they must read this and grapple with it.

also sidenote i just know this author is a great professor, the way this is written is so engaging and almost feels like you're in a class about this topic. i really appreciate nonfic written this way, it feels much more accessible when it's not dry and overwritten. this is something i really think everyone should at least know - and probably read - about, so i really hope this will find the widest possible audience.

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a grim but important book. The author discusses cases in Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte, NC and other cities where the murders of Black women and girls were ignored by both the police and the media. Some of those murders could have been prevented if police had just listened to the families of some of the women.

[Susan]

Full disclosure: I am a reporter and I read an uncorrected page proof of this book (what I think is probably very similar to an advance reader copy) after the author sent me an email about her book.

I get requests to do articles on books fairly frequently, and more often than not have to turn the authors down. But this book intrigued me because of the subject matter and also because of the author’s credentials.

You can read more about the book and the author here in my article:

Michigan author focuses on serial killings of Black women

https://www.hometownlife.com/story/ne...

As for my opinion:

This book is extremely compelling. I learned a lot and was also shocked by what is some absolutely egregious negligence by police.

Neely makes a very strong case that, at least in the instances she has presented, police were indifferent to these victims.

I respect the research she has done. I had some issues here and there with the book that probably come from my journalism background.

Overall, I recommend this book.

[renkenreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

No Human Involved by Cheryl L. Neely is a powerful and heartbreaking examination of violence against Black women, and the ways in which their lives and deaths have been neglected by the criminal justice system, police particularly. Neely approaches this subject both academically and empathically, giving voice to victims who have too often been dismissed,ignored, and forgotten.

What makes this book especially compelling is how it blends statistics, case studies, and interviews to paint a devastating portrait of systemic failures. Neely never sensationalizes (my biggest problem with true crime), instead, she humanizes. She shows the humanity behind the headlines and reminds us that these women were daughters, sisters, and mothers whose stories matter.

This is not an easy read, but it is an essential one. Neely demands that we confront uncomfortable truths and reflect on the structural inequalities that make some lives seem less worthy of justice.

[Vette M, · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very important book on a very difficult subject matter and hopefully will be read by those concerned with the way black women are treated when it comes to crime in the US. These families continue to suffer and as the author pointed out numerous times, when police fail to investigate a crime properly it could lead to more victims who didn't have to suffer. I knew about all the cases covered in this book, except the Unforgotten 51 in Chicago and the recent abduction/escape of TJ in Missouri.

The callous disregard for human lives not only by the perpetrators, but by those entrusted to solve these horrific crimes is heartbreaking as it is disturbing. I am glad the author mentioned the murder of trans women in the beginning, but unfortunate that she didn't cover any of the cases in the other chapters of the book. Unless, some of the victims were trans women and not identified as such or there were no cases with them being the victims of serial killers. The mention of intra racial crime was helpful in pointing out that most victims of homicides are killed by those of their own racial group, but that there are also exceptions. Like Gary Heidnik's victims who were also black women with "imperfect pasts" and whose disappearances were ignored. They were only saved because one of his victims was savvy enough to gain his trust and then save herself and the other women by approaching officers. Even though as mentioned by the author, black people usually have a fear of police interactions, because we never know how they will go. As some of the surviving victims of Anthony Sowell found out. I also loved that she mentioned groups within the black community that are doing their best in the place of indifference by authorities to keep their communities safe. I definitely want to read the author's other book, since this is a subject matter that isn't covered.

[Julie Shields · Rating 5 out of 5]

Profound, heartbreaking, thoughtful and well researched.
Ms. Neely has written a book that is extremely hard to digest, yet one that we all should read. She has given a name to so many black women whom society and law enforcement have turned their back on. We need to do better as a society and as decent human beings and take a stand and do what is right by coming face to face with what is wrong.
Thank you to Beacon Press for sending me a copy of this book to read and review. #BeaconPress
This experience is one I will never forget.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Samuel Little, referred to by the FBI as plausibly 'America's most prolific serial killer,' was convicted...Little told police that he stayed undetected for so long because he carefully selected victims that would 'not be missed' - primarily Black women who suffered from drug addictions or were involved in sex work."

This admission from a sex worker back when he was arrested in 2014 should have been a strong piece of evidence in how Black women, often at a disadvantage in America, are vulnerable. Yet, the Chicago Police Department refuses to acknowledge a pattern of murders in the same neighborhoods as actions of a serial killer. In Cheryl L. Neely's book, she quotes Chief Deenihan "[expressing] serious doubt that a predator would 'skip the white prostitutes to kill Black ones, that doesn't make sense.'" It is hard to fathom how Neely was able to conduct research with willing members of the police department, because I'd frankly be embarrassed to share that information.

I have not read Neely's first book, So You're Dead, Now What, so I'm not sure if the case of Daniel Holtzclaw was included. It's something that I think about it when we talk about the disadvantages that Black women face. An active police officer who had sickeningly used the profiles of race and socioeconomic class to assault several women is the kind of nightmare that we (not just white people, but as an Asian person who sees colorism and racism within our communities) should have seen and be aware of. Heck, we should be better, right?

Holtzclaw went to jail in 2015. In Neely's last chapter about the CPD, we're left uneasy about how murder cases are still going on with the strong suggestion that there is a serial killer at loose. If not, by one person, then the rate of unsolved murders (Chicago having a lower rate than the national rate) and still not having the funding for a DNA testing site give the impression that the city does not care. The story of Chicago is only one place in the country's landscape where Black women are treated terribly even after death, and the families affected have nowhere else to express grief or find resolution when the police departments don't care.

All of this to say: I'm not surprised. And truthfully, unless they make it required reading for police officers, I'm not sure who this book is for. It better be. A lot of the book follows the same formula of what happened, who was involved, and how it was able to occur. Unfortunately, serial killers of Black women are able to get by because they have killed Black women. Neely tries her best to humanize the victims when media outlets had not, but the pain that family members must feel when memories of their lost ones come back can't be easy. To me, one of the more painful things in reading No Human Involved is that one murder should have been enough. Finding several women strangled and not doing a thing is a fucking black mark on the PDs.

[Gabriela Corona Valencia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was raised in South Central my whole life and decades worth of stories about serial killers in the area circulated….but often times it feels like folks were talking about urban legends, not the real, actual violent murders of Black women and other vulnerable girls. There continues to be a high number of unsolved cases. I guess people have accepted that this part of town is inherently violent…feels like there’s nothing you can do about it.

I appreciated the humanity, the candidness, the heartbreaking portraits the author crafted on behalf of the Black women who were systemically failed over and over and over again. Some parts were difficult to get through. Especially when talking about the indifference and lack of activation by authorities to simply START an investigation. I admire the grassroots efforts from the community to persist and advocate on behalf of the women and girls that authorities didn’t deem worthy of seeking justice for. I learned a lot from those stories and I hope I’m able to support, create, uplift an effort like that in the future.

I think about the cold cases in the area often. This book reminded me of the importance of embracing the haunting and despair these stories can make us feel. It means we’re paying attention. It means they’re calling for us to listen. Professor Neely, thank you.

[Meliza · Rating 4 out of 5]

the thing about being a minority interested in true crime is that you know the police don’t care about minorities, you learn this really early on and you especially know that they don’t care about black women. but the thing is you usually assume it’s because of incompetence, you asume it’s because they suck at their jobs, because so many cases show clear signs of police being incompetent and worse of all refusing to learn from their mistakes and even denying they did anything wrong just to save face. i think this book does a really good job at showing that no it’s not always incompetence, it’s genuinely and truly malicious. so many police would rather women they don’t like be dead.

[Lisa Marks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well researched and written book about the disparity between black and white victims of violence, especially women. It is heartbreaking to read but a very important message to hear. More needs to be done, everyone deserves justice.

[Carol Scharfenberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

An important and shocking book! If you're someone in a white priviledge bubble who thinks racism isn't a problem in our modern world, try reading this book! A tough read but so enlightening.