‘Outgoing,' ‘one of a kind:' metro Atlanta woman killed, found on beach in California
It was her dream to move from the metro area and live in California.
That dream turned into a nightmare for 33-year-old Tianna Thomas after her body was found in a sleeping bag on a popular beach. Her family says Thomas ran into trouble after she had to evacuate because of the wildfires.
Thomas' sister says she lived for adventure. 'All of our friends that knew her, they were like, hey, your sister loved to live,' Kiara Thomas told Channel 2′s Tom Jones.'
But her sister's life came to a sudden and tragic end after police found her body in a sleeping bag on a Santa Monica beach February 10.
Kiara will never forget getting the call from a detective telling her the bad news.
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'She said we got some disturbing news. We found your sister on the beach. It is like a homicide,' Thomas recalled.
Tianna, a mother of two, grew up in DeKalb County. She attended New Birth Missionary Baptist Church as a child.
Police say she had extensive trauma to her face. Kiara has so many questions. 'What led this to happen? What led to this?
Tianna's ex-husband told Jones Tianna moved to the Palisades area recently and was displaced by the wildfires. He said she was supposed to get assistance, but it never came. So, she ended up at shelter in Los Angeles.
How she ended up on the beach in a sleeping bag dead has her sister pleading with the public for help solving this case.
'I want justice for her, you know. Get justice for her. I mean for a young woman to go out like that. That is not the call we were expecting,' Kiara said.
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She held a balloon release in Union City recently to remember Tianna. Several people showed up and shared the memories they shared with her.
Kiara says her sister was one of a kind. 'She was like outgoing. She loved to travel. She loved to help, like shelters. Like poor people.'
Police say the case is still under investigation.
Tianna's family needs help getting her body back home so they can lay her to rest. Click on this link if you would like to help:
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