In the late afternoon of February 24, 2019, emergency responders in Greenville, South Carolina, found 21-year-old Jayla Thomas-Smith deceased in a single-vehicle crash on Piedmont Highway. The death was initially treated as a traffic fatality, but the coroner later determined Jayla had been shot, and the case was reclassified as a homicide.

Jayla’s family said she had turned 21 just ten days earlier and remembered her as a vibrant young woman who loved to paint and was close to her family. They also reported her cell phone was missing from the scene and expressed disbelief that she would have been in the remote area where the car was found, suggesting she may have been lured there.

In April 2019, 20-year-old Deltravious Daquandra Howard surrendered to authorities and was charged with murder; investigators say he shot Jayla during a domestic dispute and left her in the car. His brother, Delgardo Daquan Howard, was charged with accessory after the fact for allegedly making false statements and was later released on $25,000 bond. The victim’s mother, Reanetta Thomas, spoke in court about Jayla’s relationship with Deltravious and questioned why he would harm someone who had helped him.

Does anyone have information about Jayla’s last known movements or the missing phone?