Hassani Jamil Campbell was a young boy who vanished in 2009.
Background[]
Hassani was born on September 24, 2003. He had cerebral palsy, a neurological condition that causes motor impairments. He could not run or jump at the time of his disappearance but was able to walk. His biological mother had substance abuse and health issues which meant she was unable to care for him. In December 2008, Hassani and his sister, Aaliyah, who was 1 at the time of his disappearance, moved in with their aunt Jennifer Campbell and her fiancée Louis Ross.
The couple was taking steps to adopt him. According to the State Devision of Children and Family Services, they had no problems with the family and noted that Hassani’s foster parents were conscientiously taking care of his medical needs.
However, there where instances of domestic violence in Jennifer and Louis’ relationship and Louis reportedly had “misgivings” about raising a disabled child. According to court documents, Louis once left the children alone at home while going to the bank. On July 31, 2009, Louis sent Jenifer a text message threatening to leave Hassani alone on a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) platform. He later stated that he only did this because he was angry and had not been planning to abandon Hassani.
Case[]
Hassani disappeared from Oakland, California at 4:15 p.m. on August 10, 2009. He was last seen by Louis who had been dropping Hassani and Aaliyah off with Jennifer at the time. According to Louis, he had left Hassani outside his 2002 BMW which was parked at a shoe store on the 6000 block of College Avenue. Louis took Aaliyah with him to unlock the store door and when he returned Hassani was gone. Due to his cerebral palsy he would not have been able to wander far on his own, but an extensive search of the area failed to find him. Hassani has not been seen or heard from since.
Police have expressed doubts that Louis’ version of events leading up to Hassani’s disappearance. The area he claimed Hassani vanished from was a busy business district but no one saw anything suspicious happening that day. Tracker dogs were taken to the area, but were unable to pick up on Hassani’s scent. People who lived nearby also claimed that they had not seen Hassani for around two weeks before his disappearance. Further investigation revealed that the last time Hassani was seen by anyone outside his family was on August 6, 2009, in a Wal-Mart in Fremont.
After Hassani was reported missing, Louis’ BMW was impounded and Aaliyah was taken into protective custody. Louis took a polygraph test and failed while Jenifer refused to take a polygraph test as she was pregnant at the time and was worried that the test could harm the fetus.
On August 28, 2009, Hassani’s foster parents were arrested on suspicion of murder. Louis was to be charged with murder and Jenifer was to be charged with being an accessory to murder. However, both were released shortly afterward as it was determined that there was insufficient evidence to file charges against them. While Louis and Jenifer maintain their innocence, they are still the prime suspects in Hassani’s disappearance.
Authorities are no longer actively searching for Hassani as they do not know where to look.
Characteristics[]
- Brown hair.
- Brown eyes.
- Had cerebral palsy.
- Speaks with a slight lisp.
Clothing and accessories[]
- Gray sweatshirt.
- Gray pants.
- White arch support braces with Spiderman logos; these would not have been visible under his clothes.
Gallery[]
