CLARKSDALE, Miss. — A Clarksdale, Mississippi woman was found dead Wednesday at a truck stop in New Orleans. Her family is searching for answers.
The woman’s name is Karmeshia Thomas. Her mother Joyce is heartbroken.
“They say she was covered in blood,” Joyce Thomas says.
The 25-year-old’s body was found in a bunk inside of her big rig truck at the Mardi Gras Truck Stop.
Thomas says her daughter called from the truck stop’s office on Sunday after her phone was stolen on Bourbon Street.
“Someone pick-pocketed her,” Thomas says.
She was supposed to be home the next day, but never showed. So, her mom kept calling, hoping Karmeshia had gotten a new phone and kept the same number.
She finally called the truck stop Wednesday morning after no response.
“I said I’m looking for my daughter,” Thomas says.
Police were already on the scene. The truck stop’s manager, who doesn’t want to be identified, found the body after Karmeshia’s company called to check on her.
“When I came out we banged on the window, didn’t get an answer, but we saw a lot of flies.” the manager says.
Thomas wanted answers and says she called the coroner, who told her the body had been in the truck for more than a day.
She claims her daughter hadn’t paid for her parking spot since Sunday and wonders why no one checked on her sooner.
“I don’t have the answers that I would like to have for her (Joyce Thomas) because I don’t know what happened to her (Karmeshia Thomas),” the manager says.
The cause of death is still under investigation.
Thomas suspects foul play, but doesn’t know why anyone would hurt her daughter.
Karmeshia’s funeral is this Saturday in Clarksdale. Sadly, her mom says the body is so decomposed that the service has to be closed casket.
