Police Suspect Body Found in Freezer May be that of 11-year-old Janiya Thomas

Police believe a body found in a deep freezer over the weekend is 11-year-old Janiya Thomas.

Janiya has not been seen since August 2014.


According to WFLA, State workers were investigating a child abuse complaint against Janiya’s mother earlier this month when they discovered the 11-year-old was missing.

Detectives arrested the mother, Keishanna Thomas, after she refused to answer questions about the child’s whereabouts. Now her four other children are in state custody.

Police say Janiya’s aunt and grandmother told them that Keishanna dropped off a freezer at their home last week.

Sunday night, after learning Janiya was missing, her aunt and grandmother decided to break the lock and look inside the freezer. That is when they discovered the body and called police.

Thomas is not cooperating with the investigation, and police plan to interview a man on Monday who they believe helped her drop the freezer off at the home last week.

child abuse death Janiya Thomas murder