'Why would you do this?' Mother found daughter shot dead

Indianapolis Star

a day ago

The family of Kamora Woods said dealing with the reality of her homicide has been a roller coaster. Along with grieving her loss and trying to figure out what happened, they were dealing with cruel comments online speculating that Woods, who was trans, didn't disclose that to a potential partner.
Woods was found shot dead inside her northwest apartment back in June.
"I'm angry. It's like, why? Why would you do this?" her mother, Danielle Dehoniesto, told IndyStar. "Why did you have to kill her? It's not making sense."
The last time she saw her daughter was June 23 when Woods texted her to come over and grab a plate of food. The 27-year-old was always cooking, and they had talked about getting a soul food truck business together. Dehoniesto said she was giving her daughter advice that day to not focus on dating since Woods was dealing with a recent breakup.
Woods would be found dead on June 26. A man is behind bars at the Marion County Jail after being arrested on murder and robbery charges on Aug. 14, and according to court documents, he claims he shot Woods out of self-defense before pawning her cellphone.
Her grandmother, Karen Dehoniesto, said she was happy when her daughter called her in Kansas about the arrest. Woods was her only grandchild, and it's been hard to come to terms with her killing.
"I have a picture hanging up in my hallway wall of her, and I see her face every day when I wake up," Karen Dehoniesto told IndyStar. "I miss my grandbaby. She had a funny way that she would call me grandma, and I miss hearing it."
The grandmother said she'll always cherish the last time Woods and her mother came to visit. They went shopping and bonded. They spoke often, but Karen Dehoniesto said calls came less often the year before her death.
"I figured she had her own life to live, so I didn't bother her," Dehoniesto said. "But the last time we chatted was two months ago. We had a good heart-to-heart and were just laughing together."
Karen Dehoniesto said her daughter called her June 26, screaming that her baby was gone.
Danielle Dehoniesto said her daughter's best friend had reached out to her, worried that she hadn't heard from Woods. She checked Woods' Facebook Messenger, which revealed that she hadn't been online in 23 hours, which was odd, since Woods was chronically online. She reached out to her employer, who had said she hadn't been at work.
So she went over to the Scarborough Lake Apartments complex, where her daughter lived. Woods' car was outside. Her mother had hoped Woods was just sleeping, but she got a eerie feeling walking toward her door.
She knocked a few times and heard nothing but her pet dogs barking. She had hoped the door was locked, but a turn of the handle proved otherwise, so she went inside.
She found her daughter facedown on her bed. She'd been shot in the head.
"She was naked from the waist down and when I went to touch her she was cold and stiff. That's when I noticed her face was bloody," her mother told IndyStar.
She ran from the home screaming for help.
When Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers arrived about 3:30 p.m. June 26 they began unraveling what happened Woods inside the apartment in the 6400 block of Maidstone Road.
Officers found a shell casing at the base of the bed and a used condom nearby. Neighbors reported hearing a possible disturbance overnight.
Detective Aaron Ramos began work on the case with interviews and collecting evidence throughout July. A witness said Woods had been an escort to earn extra money. When Ramos went to her job at a gas station, a manager said that she had last worked on June 25, and they noted a phone call she took between 11 a.m. and noon.
The manager said Woods was rarely on her phone while at work, and it seemed like she was upset after the call. They also recalled seeing a "Plenty of Fish" notification pop up on Woods' phone.
Danielle Dehoniesto told police a lot of items were missing from her daughter's apartment, including a Pandora charm bracelet that was gifted to her.
Fingerprints from the used condom would trace to a man who was already in the criminal justice system.
He was also seen on her camera, coming in and out of the apartment complex, the day of the killing, according to court documents. A search warrant for his home found a firearm police say is tied to the crime scene.
IndyStar is not naming the man because he wasn't formally charged at time of publication.
The detective confronted the man with evidence of his presence at Woods' apartment, including his Lyft app data, surveillance video from Scarborough Lake Apartments, and information that showed he pawned Woods' cellphone after she was killed.
The man admitted that he knew Woods from local bars and clubs and got her contact information from an online website, according to court documents.
A preliminary probable cause affidavit for his arrest reveals that he denied knowing she was trans and that he went to her apartment for sex. He told police Woods drugged him when he visited her on June 25.
According to court documents, the man said he passed out, and when he came to, he was in Woods' bed with his hands cuffed in front of his body. He told police Woods forced him to put a condom on at gunpoint. He said he fought her off and went into his bag to retrieve his gun, and fired at Woods.
The court documents don't explain how he would have gotten the cuffs off.
The man said Woods was alive when he left her apartment. He took her cellphone to pawn it for money, and said he did not want her to call for help, according to court records.
Karen Dehoniesto said Woods' death brings her to tears with every thought. She remembers her granddaughter always chasing after what she wanted. Dehoniesto said Woods was outgoing and hilarious.
Danielle Dehoniesto said raising Woods was challenging at times because she was headstrong, but that's what made her a strong person. She said Woods had different talents, like styling hair, cooking and she was interested in working with animals.
"She didn't take no mess," Danielle Dehoniesto said. "She was transitioning, and was bullied and picked on a lot growing up, but I loved her regardless. She was still my daughter, and she was still a human being."