Janiya Thomas's mother to be in court in Bradenton on charges she killed daughter, put her body in freezer
BRADENTON -- Janiya Thomas' mother will appear in court at 8:30 a.m. Thursday to face charges she abused and killed the girl before putting her body in a freezer.
Janiya Thomas' body was found Oct. 18 inside a padlocked chest freezer her mother, Keishanna Thomas, had delivered to a relative's home days earlier under the guise she was being evicted.
Janiya was first reported missing Oct. 16 after Thomas refused to tell a judge anything about her whereabouts or well-being and was held in contempt of court. The news didn't go public until the next day.
Thomas, 32, is charged with first-degree murder, abuse of a dead body and aggravated child abuse.
If convicted. she will face the death penalty or life in prison. Assistant State Attorney Art Brown has not yet filed whether he intends to seek the death penalty.
Thomas is scheduled to appear before Circuit Judge Susan Malucci for a case management hearing. A trial date has not been set.
Investigators with the Manatee County Sheriff's Office Child Protective Investigative Division noticed Janiya, 11, missing Sept. 23 when they went to the family's Bradenton home to investigate an allegation Thomas abused her 12-year-old son. Only three of Thomas' five children had been present at the time, but she eventually took her 2-year-old son to investigators.
Thomas refused to give them specifics about Janiya, claiming she was out of state with her father's relatives.
Records reveal how little was done to locate Janiya by CPID investigators in the weeks that followed until she was officially reported missing. An internal affairs investigation of how the case was handled is still underway.
Janiya's eldest sister told investigators she saw her mother tie Janiya's hands and feet one day and dunk her head in water. Afterward, a bathroom in which Janiya was often locked, was cleaned and open.
Janiya was never seen again.
Janiya's brother told investigators he last saw his sister in January or February last year. The FedEx box in which Janiya was found in the freezer had a label dated Jan. 7.
Janiya was found after a relative became suspicious when she saw media reports Janiya had been reported missing, broke the lock, found her body inside and called the Manatee County Sheriff's Office.
Jessica De Leon, Herald law enforcement reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7049. You can follow her on Twitter @JDeLeon1012.
This story was originally published February 17, 2016 at 11:11 PM with the headline "Janiya Thomas's mother to be in court in Bradenton on charges she killed daughter, put her body in freezer ."