Tow truck worker finds body in trunk of car, NC cops say. Now, man charged with murder
A tow truck worker made a grim discovery in a car — and now, a North Carolina man is charged with murder, authorities said.
Inside the trunk, the employee stumbled upon remains believed to belong to 19-year-old Amarriah Smith, according to the Chowan County Sheriff’s Office. The college student was known for her dream of becoming an educator.
“She was always talking about her classes,” her sister, Alana Smith, told WRAL. “Her early childhood classes ... she was like ‘I am really going to be a teacher.’”
As a medical examiner’s office works to confirm whether Amarriah Smith was the woman found dead in the car, Jordan Isaiah Thomas— a 29-year-old Eastern North Carolina man— faces a murder charge. No attorney information was listed for Thomas in a joint news release Chowan County deputies and the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation shared Tuesday, Jan. 23.
Thomas is accused of leaving his car at a “private parking lot” in the town of Washington before it was towed. Then on Jan. 17, a person working for the towing company found a body inside the car’s trunk, officers said.
Investigators said Thomas stole a truck from that parking lot. They tracked the truck to a hospital, where he was arrested. When a murder warrant was issued, Thomas was already in custody on charges of larceny and concealing the death of a person in another county, authorities said.
“Evidence was found at a residence in Edenton where the suspect had been living,” officers wrote. “It is unclear at this time if the murder happened there or at another location and the manner in which the victim was murdered. It is believed that Thomas and the victim knew each other.”
As investigators search for clues, Amarriah Smith’s family members told WRAL they are mourning her loss. Elizabeth City State University said she was a freshman from the town of Nashville, roughly 45 miles northeast of Raleigh.
“Her untimely death, which occurred off campus, has left our community saddened,” the university told McClatchy News in an emailed statement. “Please keep Amarriah’s family and loved ones in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.”
As of Jan. 23, Thomas was being held in the Chowan County jail without a bond. A homicide investigation, which also involved deputies from Beaufort and Pasquotank counties, is ongoing.
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