MEDIA RELEASE
CONTACT:  Angie Grube
Public Information Director, SBI
agrube@ncsbi.gov
January 22, 2024
 
Update on Joint Death Investigation
(Raleigh, NC) – The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, Pasquotank County Sheriff’s Office, and the Chowan County Sheriff’s Office continue their joint investigation. Jordan Isaiah Thomas was charged with murder on Monday, January 22, 2024. After going before a magistrate, he was issued no bond and is currently being held at the Chowan County Detention Center. Attached is Thomas’ mug shot from the Chowan County Sheriff’s Office.
Several agencies are working together on this case because there is more than one crime scene. The body of the female victim was found in Beaufort County on Wednesday, January 17, 2024, in the trunk of a car owned by Jordan Thomas. The vehicle had been parked in the parking lot of a local private company located at 6055 U.S. Highway 264 E, Washington, NC. A tow truck company was called by the private company to move the vehicle. The car was later towed to a local facility where the body was found by a tow truck employee. Investigators have determined that Thomas left his car in the private parking lot and stole a truck from that location. The stolen truck was located at ECU Health Beaufort Hospital in Washington, NC and Thomas was arrested there as well.
It is believed the victim was murdered at a different location. Evidence was found at a residence in Edenton where the suspect had been living. 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. The victim is believed to be Amarriah Smith, 19, a student at Elizabeth City State University, pending positive identification from the medical examiner’s office, who will also determine the cause of death. This investigation remains ongoing. More information will be shared at a later time.