WAKULLA COUNTY, FL (WTXL) — LaTonya Thomas was 36 years old when she suffered a stroke and passed away in the hospital. Her family and friends believe the stroke was caused by strangulation.
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Ten years after her death, the case surrounding it has been reopened.
Family and friends describe Thomas as family-oriented, willing to help anyone in any way, and overall a sweet person. Thomas' mother, Thomasene Butler, said losing her daughter has stayed with her.
"You know, I think about it every day. You know, it's sad."
Butler described the close bond she shared with her daughter.
"She was me, who were just like where we were, mother and daughter, and we was friends, partners and everything. When you see one, you see another one, just about," Butler said.
Butler said she was with Thomas when she found her unresponsive.
"We called 911, she was kind of unconscious. I thought she was dead, but her brother shook her in. She moved her head and we rushed up into the hospital," Butler said.
According to the police report from 2016, the medical examiner paraphrased regarding the autopsy that Thomas had disrupted plaque on both sides of her neck, consistent with strangulation.
The medical examiner's notes state:
"I observed disruption of plaque on both the right and left side of her neck blood vessels. This is disruption is consistent with a strangulation."
Thomas' cousin, Vicki Jenkins, said the family is relieved the case has been reopened.
"That is a relief for the family. We are so excited to find out that they finally opened the case. My aunt is very excited, very happy. I am very happy, very excited. And we're hoping that this will help get the arrest that's needed for this case," Jenkins said.
Thomas' lifelong friend, Crystal Sanders, said she misses Thomas and hopes for answers.
"I miss her a lot. My children misses her because I'm living now won't be like this. If she was here, me and her are always stick together, hard, good, bad, it didn't matter. But all thing I want is them that I know who done it, that I can sleep better," Sanders said.
I reached out to the sheriff's office and asked why they decided to reopen the case. They said they cannot comment on the case other than confirming it has been reopened. The sheriff's office also said they cannot comment on what new detail led to the case being reopened, and that since the case has been reopened, there are no further details besides that it is under examination.
The family hopes the reopened case will bring them closure.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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