College Hill Courts slaying victim was a kindergarten volunteer

Chattanooga Police Chief Fred Fletcher, left, and Lt. Glenn Scruggs answers questions from the media Wednesday afternoon following a suspected homicide in the building directly behind them in College Hill Courts in this file photo.

There was a moment, a few months ago, when 56-year-old Rosa Chatman dominated a Woodmore Elementary School dance competition.

Chatman danced with kids and teachers and parents. She boogied with the best and came out victorious, walking away with first-place bragging rights.

"Everyone was like, 'Go, Granny, go, Granny,'" said Chatman's daughter, Roshandra Stallworth. "Everyone was happy about it. That's what I remember the most. Just seeing her up there dancing with the little kids. She loved to dance."

Chatman was found dead in her apartment in College Hill Courts on Wednesday. Chattanooga police believe she was killed and said there was evidence of a struggle inside the home. Her death is the eighth homicide in the city this year and the third since Saturday.

Police have not named any suspects in the case, but say there are "multiple credible leads."

Rosa Chatman, 56, was found dead in her College Hill Courts apartment.

Chatman had lived in College Hill Courts for only a few months, Stallworth said. Before, she lived out by Woodmore Elementary School in Brainerd, where she volunteered as a "foster granny" in a kindergarten classroom.

"She volunteered out here every single day," Principal Cheri Guerdon said. "She'd get here at 7:30 or 7:45 a.m. and stay all day. She's done that for years."

Foster grannies are assigned to help out in particular classrooms, Guerdon said, and work with specific kids who are struggling in each class.

Some of Chatman's 14 grandchildren attend the school. Chatman stopped volunteering at Woodmore when she moved to College Hill Courts, Guerdon said. But even in a new place, neighbors said they'd never seen Chatman without kids around.

"She was always with those kids," said Rodney Brown, a neighbor. "She cared about them kids."

Stallworth said she has no idea who would want to kill her mother.

"She had no enemies," Stallworth said. "Everybody loved my mama. She'd give you the shirt off her back. Whatever you needed."

She couldn't believe it at first.

"Somebody called me and said my mom was gone," she said. "And I was like, 'No, she's not.'"

Contact staff writer Shelly Bradbury at 423-757-6525 or sbradbury@timesfreepress.com with tips or story ideas.