Mother Charged With First Degree Murder; 11-Year-Old Daughter Janiya Found in Freezer

The horrific discovery of 11-year-old Janiya's body found stuffed inside a freezer has finally led to an official indictment. Keishanna Thomas, the mother of the young girl, was charged with first degree murder on Tuesday (Dec. 15) in Bradenton, Florida.

Keishanna was arrested on Friday (Oct. 16) after she adamantly refused to offer details to law enforcement regarding the whereabouts what happened to her daughter, Janiya. Since then, she has been held in custody at the Manatee County Jail on multiple charges of abuse, abuse of a dead human body, and aggravated child abuse.

Authorities were first made aware that Janiya was missing after Child Protective Services went to the home to investigate allegations that Keishanna punched her 12-year-old son in the mouth and slammed his head into a mirror. Police were later tipped off by a family member who claimed she found Janiya's body after Keishanna asked to store the the mid-size chest freezer in her garage.

"The child was completely frozen and appeared emaciated," Bradenton Police Detective Adrian Meridan wrote, according to the Bradenton Herald. "The child had been placed into a cardboard box which had been taped shut. Sitting on top of the box were two orange boxes of baking soda."

The freezer was reportedly secured with a padlock. The cardboard box Janiya's body was found in also had a FedEx shipping label on it, addressed to Keishanna. FedEx confirmed a package was delivered to her home on Jan. 7.

Although the autopsy results were inconclusive regarding her cause of death, the test did show Janiya only weighed 44 pounds when she died, her right leg had been broken about two weeks before her death, as well as, marks on her hands and feet as a result of being tied up.

When police spoke to Janiya's siblings, they revealed they haven't seen their sister in over a year. She was last seen by child welfare workers on June 9, 2014. Child Protective Services visited of Keishanna and her five kids multiple times between 2004 and 2015, accumulating 26 pages in reports.

Keishanna is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday (Dec. 16) to hear her charges. She will be held without bond. If the jury finds her guilty of first-degree murder, Keishanna could face the death penalty or life in prison.