A man remained in jail Saturday after being denied bond in the murder of a Riverdale mom who apparently just reunited with her children after turning from her life of prostitution.
Mr. Nehemiah Johnson Jr., 27, of Riverdale was arrested in the strangulation death of Ms. Rochelle Alisha Thomas, whose partially-nude body was found Wednesday at a Jonesboro apartment complex, police said.
Mr. Johnson, who has been jailed since Tuesday for kidnapping, burglary and battery in an unrelated case in Clayton County, was charged with murder and aggravated assault in Ms. Thomas’ death on Friday, Jonesboro police Chief Franklin Allen said.
Hours before his arrest, police told news reporters that the man strangled the mother of two boys.
“Sometime between Tuesday and Wednesday, the murder did occur in that apartment here at the Harmony Crossroads Apartment complex, and the body was disposed of in that location,” Jonesboro Police Chief Franklin Allen said, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Ms. Thomas, 30, dropped off her two sons, 12 and 8, at school about 7 a.m. Tuesday, but she was not there to meet them at the bus stop at 3 p.m., Chief Allen said.
"I thought maybe it would just be a half hour later, she would be home," the woman’s son, Alex Thomas told Channel 2 Action News.
"I called her and she didn't answer. I thought she would call back, but we kept trying and she wouldn't answer," son Shamar Edwards said.
The boys contacted their grandmother who tried all day to reach her daughter. She finally called the Riverdale police department to report Ms. Thomas missing on Wednesday.
A resident at the Harmony Crossroads Apartment on Tara Boulevard in Jonesboro found the woman’s partially nude body in a wooded area on Wednesday, about 40 to 50 yards from the complex, Chief Allen said.
Her car was found Thursday afternoon in the 700 block of Dixon Road in Jonesboro with her keys and other personal items still inside ,according to the AJC.
On Friday, police also questioned a woman in connection with Ms. Thomas’s murder. But so far, no one else has been charged.
"At some point between Wednesday and Thursday, another individual returned to that apartment who was not a primary participant of the crime, but … attempted to sanitize and destroy evidence," Chief Allen told the paper.
Officer with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Jonesboro and Riverdale police departments were able to recover that evidence, Chief Allen said. He added the evidence "gives us a direct linkage between the [individuals] and the murder victim.”
Ms. Beverly Thomas hasd been entrusted with raising her daughter’s sons in her absence. She was happy with the quick arrest in her daughter's murder.
“I’m very pleased about that,” Ms. Beverly Thomas told reporters. “I don’t want to shed any more tears.”
Ms. Rochelle Thomas had been arrested at least twice in the past 18 months for prostitution, in Gwinnett and DeKalb counties, the AJC reported.
In 2008 and 2009, she was arrested in Fulton, Clayton and Cobb counties related to drug possession, forgery and lying to police.
But those who knew her said she was trying to turn her life around.
Her last arrest was in DeKalb County on Nov. 10, 2010, and that led her to a prostitution diversion program and getting her sons back, her attorney, Mr. Albert Mitchell, told the paper.
Mr. Mitchell said Ms. Thomas was estranged from her sons for nearly five years. Her mother had the boys until she could quit the sex trade.
“For her to get those boys back, she had to demonstrate to her mother that she was walking the straight and narrow,” he said. “She wanted to be a better mother.”
While Ms. Beverly Mitchell was happy for the arrest in her daughter’s slaying, she lamented losing a daughter she just regained from the world of prostitution.
“We had a wonderful Christmas with her,” Ms. Thomas said. “She made Christmas special for the family, and 25 days later, she’s gone.”
To get updates and to read more local news stories, go to: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Atlanta-Public-Safety-Examiner/195837070474348#!/pages/Atlanta-Public-Safety-Examiner/195837070474348?sk=wall
Comments