Was A Hit Man Hired To Kill Chelsea Small Or Was She Killed In A Robbery Attempt?

Chelsea Ann Small

"I Love You To The Moon And Back."

She was a great mom. She loved her babies, they were her life, everything she did was for them. Chelsea was always cheerful and smiling and knew how to brighten up a room. People just flocked to her. She had a good sense of humor. She was vibrant and the life of the party,

Chelsea was born in August 9th, 1983 to Debi Kamin and Norman Small. 

Around 2002, when Chelsea was 19-years-old, she met Rick Farley. They had two children together, a son named Logan and a daughter named Josalynn. Rick and Chelsea separated in 2012. Chelsea and the kids move in with her sister Tiffany in Taylor, Michigan. 

Chelsea was attending Wayne County Community College, where she was on the Dean's List. She was studying to become a physical therapist. She also worked full time at Advance America, a cash advance store located in a strip mall on Telegraph Road.

On November 12, 2013, at around 10:30 a.m., Chelsea briefly talked to her mom as she was running the deposit to the bank for work. Chelsea was suppose to be off that day, but she had switched shifts with a co-worker so she could celebrate her son's birthday 3 days earlier.

At 12:04 p.m., Chelsea was back at the store working alone. The door was kept locked for security purposes. A man wearing a dark black cap buzzed at the door. After Chelsea took a glance at the man and without hesitation, she let him in. Once inside, the man walked up to the counter and produced a gun with silencer or suppressor. He shot Chelsea in the chest as she pushed the silent alarm. The first shot knocked her out of her chair. Then the man walked around the counter and shot Chelsea in the head. After that he calmly rummaged around in the store and then walked out, taking about $200 in cash he had put in a dark nylon backpack with a drawstring. The entire robbery took around 2 minutes.

When police arrived minutes later, they had to use a tool to shatter the glass door. Inside, they found Chelsea's body on the floor behind the counter. Despite Telegraphy road being heavily trafficked, a busy take out pizza place being next door and a cell phone store being two doors away, no one saw her killer.

Investigators believe that the use of the silencer by the robber means that murder was first on his itinerary and that the money was secondary. It is also surmised that he might work at a gun range or at least frequent one and have several weapons in his possession. The suspect is likely between 30-50 years old, 5'10" tall and weighing maybe 200 pounds. He had dark busy hair and was wearing a dark hat with some kind of emblem on the front. It seemed that he was wearing some kind of work uniform and work boots.

It turns out that a robbery at Schupbach’s Sporting Goods in Jackson, Michigan happened six months before Chelsea's murder and it involved taking several suppressors and weapons. One of the suppressors that was stolen from that incident is the same caliber as the gun used in Chelsea's murder. Also, the suspect's build and body language was similar. Investigators haven't said if this is related to Chelsea's murder or not.

Advanced America is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to Chelsea's killer and Crime Stoppers is offering an additional $2,500 reward. If you have information concerning Chelsea’s murder, please contact the Taylor Police Department (734) 287-6611. You can also call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.