The Daytona Beach Police Department (DBPD) is now offering a $10,000 reward for anyone with information leading to an arrest and conviction in the murder of an 18-year-old Daytona Beach woman over a decade ago.
On this date 13 years ago, officers found the body of Mamie Jameka Thomas partially clothed and lying on the ground at a vacant lot near 618 South Beach Street. That lot is across the street from Halifax Harbor Marina.
Dispatchers were first notified through a phone call at 5:52 p.m. that Sunday, with a female caller saying that a man she knew found the body of a young black woman at the rear of the vacant lot while walking through it.
She was declared dead on scene soon after first responders arrived, which is when DBPD’s Criminal Investigative Division (CID) began its investigation.
It wasn’t clear at that time who the victim was because the body showed signs of advanced decomposition.
Six days after the body was found, Thomas’ family called DBPD to file a missing person report for her, prompting detectives to go to her apartment on 1200 Beville Road so they could process the scene for evidence.
Thomas’ identity was firmly established months later by the Volusia County Medical Examiner’s Office through DNA testing. It was also at that point when the autopsy confirmed that Thomas was murdered.
Since then, CID detectives have attempted to bring Thomas’ murderer to justice.
The case eventually grew cold after all investigative leads were exhausted, according to Deputy Chief Jakari Young, who was one of the detectives originally assigned to the case.
“We hope that offering a substantial cash reward now will bring out the information we need to give justice to Mamie and closure to her family,” Young added.
Anyone with information which could help solve this case is urged to contact CID Detective Nate Williams at (386) 671-5209 or WilliamsNathaniel@dbpd.us regarding Case 2007-0025518. Tips can also be filed online.
Tipsters who wish to remain anonymous can contact Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida at 888-277-TIPS (8477).