Mom’s mysterious death at adult slumber party will get second look, Georgia cops say

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says it plans to reopen the investigation into the mysterious death of a Forsyth County woman at a sleepover.

Tamla Horsford, 40, died after what investigators said was an accidental fall from the back deck of a home in Cumming, where she was attending an “adult slumber party” with friends in November 2018. She was found unresponsive in the backyard the next morning.

Investigators ruled Horsford’s death an accident, adding that her injuries were consistent with that of a fall, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Her family and friends disputed those findings, however, and a recent call from the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office to reopen the case has since prompted the GBI to take a second look.

“At the request of the Forsyth County Sheriff, the GBI is opening an investigation into the November 2018 death of Tamla Horsford,” a public affairs official for the bureau told McClatchy News.

It’s unclear when the case will be reopened.

In a letter to GBI Director Vic Reynolds, Forsyth County Sheriff Ron Freeman cited “renewed requests for re-examination” into the death of the mother of five.

These requests “are best served by an independent law enforcement agency to review previous findings and to search and act on any new evidence which may come to light,” Freeman wrote in the letter, posted to the department’s Facebook page Friday.

Calls for a re-investigation of the case have surged amid protests against police violence and racial injustice after the death of George Floyd, an African American man killed in police custody when a Minneapolis officer kneeled on his neck for over 8 minutes.

Some have had their doubts about the Georgia woman’s death, including family attorney Ralph Fernandez who said his own investigation revealed a “strong possibility” that Horsford’s death was a homicide, Atlanta station WSB-TV reported.

“Witness statements are in conflict,” Fernandez wrote in a letter to the victim’s family last week, according to the news station. “A potential subject handled the body as well as the evidence prior to law enforcement arriving. Evidence was disposed of and no inquiry followed. The scene was not preserved.”

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“A remarkable fact is that there were no photographs taken during the autopsy of Tamla’s body,” the attorney added. “This had to have been done at someone’s directive because such a practice is unheard of.”

Horsford’s best friend Michelle Graves expressed the same concerns in 2019, telling WSB-TV: “It’s impossible to get the injuries that she had from one fall.”

Horsford was at an overnight birthday party with at least 11 other adults when she died, Forsyth County News reported. There was “heavy” drinking as the party goers watched football and played card games, according to the newspaper, citing Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office reports.

After everyone had gone to bed, Horsford went out onto the deck to smoke a cigarette around 2 a.m., witnesses told sheriff’s deputies. Her body was discovered 10 feet below in the backyard around 9 a..m the next morning, Forsyth County News reported.

A GBI Medical Examiners report said Horsford suffered “severe injuries” to her neck, head and torso, as well as a laceration to her heart, the AJC reported.

Her blood alcohol level was nearly three times the legal limit for driving, and Xanax and marijuana were also in Horsford’s system at the time of the fall, the autopsy said, according to the newspaper.

Sheriff Freeman said his department is ready to assist the GBI in its investigation and would give the bureau “complete access” to the case file.