Advertisement

Missing Florida girl's mother charged with abuse of corpse after body found in freezer

 
Keishanna Thomas has been charged with abuse of a dead body. A body found in a freezer in a garage is thought to be that of Thomas' daughter Janiya Thomas, 11. [Manatee County Sheriff's Office via AP]
Keishanna Thomas has been charged with abuse of a dead body. A body found in a freezer in a garage is thought to be that of Thomas' daughter Janiya Thomas, 11. [Manatee County Sheriff's Office via AP]
Published Oct. 23, 2015

MANATEE — Police have charged Janiya Thomas' mother with abuse of a dead body in the case surrounding the presumed death of the missing 11-year-old Bradenton girl.

Detectives obtained a warrant charging Keishanna Thomas with abuse of a dead body, also known as "Caylee's Law," after the daughter of Casey Anthony, and were taking it to the Manatee County jail where she will be served, Bradenton Police Chief Michael Radzilowski told the Bradenton Herald late Thursday.

Details of the latest charge against Thomas were not immediately available, but on Sunday night law enforcement was called out to the home of a family member who had discovered a body believed to be Janiya inside a freezer ( tbtim.es/qj3). Keishanna Thomas and a boyfriend who has yet to be identified by police took the freezer over to the home on Oct. 14 under the guise that she was being evicted.

Earlier Thursday, police said the medical examiner's office would be unable to identify the body found in the freezer or determine the cause of death before next week.

An autopsy conducted Wednesday afternoon was inconclusive and further testing has been scheduled. Radzilowski said it would not be until sometime next week after all the medical evidence is evaluated by the medical examiner before an identification or cause of death would be determined.

"They are pretty sure they know who it is and know the cause of death, but they need to make sure they have medical findings that confirm their beliefs," Radzilowski said.

Thomas, who now is charged with abuse of a dead body, contempt of court, aggravated child abuse and child abuse, will appear in court Friday on the abuse of dead body charge.

Keishanna Thomas again refused to talk to a judge Thursday about her daughter Janiya.

Thomas was first brought before a judge Oct. 16 after refusing to tell investigators with the Manatee County Sheriff's Office Child Protective Investigative division the child's whereabouts. Investigators had come to the Thomas home in the Village at Cortez apartments complex to remove all five of her children, as part of a child abuse case involving Thomas' 12-year-old son.

Thomas was held in contempt of court and taken to the Manatee County jail to be held without bond after she refused to tell Circuit Judge Scott Brownell anything about Janiya's whereabouts or well-being.

Several hours later, CPI investigators reported Janiya missing to the Bradenton Police Department.

On Saturday, three of Thomas' other children — ages 15, 12 and 9 — were interviewed by investigators. One child said it had been more than a year since they had seen Janiya, who reportedly was often beaten and locked in the bathroom for days at a time by Thomas.

On Thursday morning, Circuit Judge Diana Moreland again ordered Thomas to be held in jail on contempt of court charges when she refused to talk. Her lawyer, Assistant Public Defender Franklin Roberts, said he has advised Thomas to answer the judge's questions.

Assistant State Attorney Art Brown informed Moreland that they were still waiting on test results.

Keep up with Tampa Bay’s top headlines

Subscribe to our free DayStarter newsletter

We’ll deliver the latest news and information you need to know every morning.

You’re all signed up!

Want more of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get started.

Explore all your options

Caylee's Law was signed into effect in 2012 by Gov. Rick Scott after outrage sparked by the Casey Anthony trial. Anthony was found not guilty of her daughter's death, but Caylee was not reported missing for 31 days after she vanished and then Anthony initially lied to police during the investigation's onset.

The Florida Department of Children and Families sent a Critical Incident Rapid Response Team to Bradenton on Monday to review the presumed death case per protocol, because there had been a verified report and involvement between CPI and the family in the 12 months before the discovery of the body.

On Thursday afternoon, without yet releasing any of the requested reports of the multiple investigations involving Thomas, DCF released a statement from DCF Secretary Mike Carroll.

"After the horrific tragedy of the murder of an innocent child, we have to stop and think about what we can do to get better to ensure this does not happen again," Carroll said.

Janiya was last seen by child welfare workers during a home visit in June 2014 during which her mother reportedly became uncooperative. Case management and Children's Legal Services recommended the case be closed as "non-compliant" with the understanding court action would be appropriate if another complaint were received.

"The recommendation to close the 2014 Thomas case as non-compliant when Ms. Thomas refused voluntary services was a joint consensus among the Manatee County Sheriff's Office's child protective investigators, Sarasota Family YMCA case managers and DCF's Children's Legal Services. When this joint recommendation was made, all of the children were with the family," Carroll said.

©2015 Bradenton Herald