In Tragedy, a true crime podcast. We discuss missing persons cases, violent crime, and other sensitive topics that may be difficult for some listeners. Listener discretion is advised. Our show is a place where every story matters and every voice deserves to be heard. To support this podcast, you can subscribe at. A true crime podcast for early access to new episodes and join our Facebook community. Tragedy, a true crime podcast for updates, discussions and ways to support the families. We feature. Before we continue our story regarding LaTanya Thomas, we have a few updates that need to be shared regarding Haley Athey on April 14th, 2026, on the Bring Haley Home page, this message was posted. First, we would like to thank everyone on this page for your messages, prayers and information. With heavy hearts, we can confirm that we have accomplished our mission. Then Haley has been returned home. Our mission now will be to seek answers and accountability for those involved with her passing. I also understand that there was a press release that was put out there as well. Can you talk about that? Yes, this was just put out today on April 15th, 2026. It reads On April 12th, 2026, Cowlitz County residents were hiking on Wire Hauser property near Rose Valley Road and the 1600 line during their hike. They came across clothing and two bones. They notified authorities and a photo of the bones was sent to a forensic anthropologist, who identified the bones as human. Detectives from the Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office attempted to reach the remains that night, but due to the location in the late hour, they could not. On April 13th, Detective James Hanbury coordinated a search with the Cowlitz County Coroner's Office and Cowlitz County Search and Rescue. One of the men who had found the remains led the search party to the area. Nearly complete skeletal remains were located, as well as multiple items of clothing and personal belongings. This location was in the middle of an area that Detective Hanbury had identified through diligent investigation and interviews, as an area of interest in the disappearance of Hayley Athey. Prior searches had been conducted near this area, but no evidence had been recovered. The remains were turned over to the Cowlitz County Coroner's Office, in an analysis by a forensic anthropologist, will be completed to determine the cause of a forensic ontology, examine the recovered skull and compared the teeth to dental records for Hailey. The ontology was able to make a positive comparison and identify the remains as those of Hailey Athey. The exact location will not be released at this time, as this investigation remains an active investigation pending cause and manner of death, and this is signed by Undersheriff Troy Brightwell from the Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office. All right. Well, obviously Rose Valley's familiar to us because we've talked about Rose Valley quite a bit. And isn't that the area they went, you know, you allegedly went mushroom picking that that day when she disappeared? Yes. Everyone that we spoke to when we were covering Haley's story did discuss that Rose Valley area as the last place that she was known to be seen. All right. Well, bottom line, we're happy that she's home, and we just wish it was in better circumstances. For those of you who are looking for ways that you can help Haley's family, we did link a GoFundMe on our Facebook page. You can find us on Facebook. Tragedy. A true crime podcast. And all those funds will go to her memorial service. And we're not done here. obviously Haley has been brought home, but now we are going to move into a different phase for Haley, and we are going to work with this family to support them as they seek justice for Haley. The case we are discussing today, the death of LaTonya Thomas is a closed case. The conclusions reached by law enforcement remain in place, and nothing in this episode is intended to challenge or override those official findings. Our discussion is based on a limited set of information, including documents obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests and interviews with individuals who knew LaTonya personally. As with any case built from partial records and personal accounts, there may be gaps, inconsistencies, or perspectives that are not fully represented. We want to be clear we are not making accusations against any individual or entity. Our goal is to share information, highlight perspectives, and give voice to those impacted, not to assign blame or determine guilt. All content presented in this episode should be considered informational and for discussion purposes only. Listeners are encouraged to review available public records and form their own conclusions. As always, we approach this case and every case with respect for those involved and the understanding that real lives are impacted by these Welcome to tragedy, a true crime podcast. I'm Elisa and I'm Michael. Today we're talking about the loss of LaTonya Thomas, a loss that was sudden, devastating and left a lasting impact on the people who loved her. While the circumstances surrounding her death are difficult, at the heart of this story is a woman who mattered deeply to so many. LaTonya was more than what happened to her. She was a friend, a daughter, and someone whose presence is still felt by those closest to her. Today we're joined by her friend Krystal Newkirk, who is here to help us remember LaTonya for who she truly was beyond the tragedy. Thank you for being here, and welcome to the show. Thank you. We're glad to have you. And we would like to start off by just learning a little bit about you. So tell us a little bit about you, Krystal. I live in South Florida. My whole life I was born there. I fish, I worked fish worms and went to Berkeley High School and just been with my family. Thank you for sharing. I'm learning that people around here are very much into fishing as as is Michael. Of course we are. Yes. This is something that I'm learning that when you live here, you go fishing. And I've learned to fish, which is great. Um, I that's all I did all my life with my family. You know, we own a we used to own a seafood market down the road. Tell us about your relationship to LaTonya. Okay. I went to school with LaTonya. We called her toot and I went to elementary through high school. We graduated together. Me and her. When we graduated, we never split up at all. You seen her? You seen me? It's either way. We was there and I let her meet my husband. Um, that uncle and she decided to move in with him. And by that date on. That's my lifetime when I seen her. Share with us one of your fondest memories of the time that you spent with LaTonya. Well, man. Ah, we did school together. We have fun. We have our first child together. Uh. My daughter, I had a son, and she had a daughter. me and her, we co-parent with our children. You know, we were young, we had kids. But me and her, we did sports in school. You know, um, men are. We did party together. We did all kinds of things. Like friends. We were like sisters more than anything. And what do you want people to know about LaTonya? Well, LaTonya was a sweet girl. She was a happy girl. She helped anybody. She did. She would give her shirt off her back. You know, she. She would help anybody. You know, and she never bothered. Nobody at all. She was a quiet the only thing we can remember with LaTonya, you know, we were sitting at the picnic table, we played cards together, and we were on Allen Street and start talking. So let's talk a little bit about LaTonya and her death. And I believe you were very involved in getting LaTonya to the hospital. Am I right about that? Yes, ma'am. Okay. Can you talk a little bit about what that was like for you that day and what you remember? Okay. I don't think I remember. I got a phone call. From my mama. You take as much time as you need. her mom called me because we. Because she was supposed to go to the crab house. Well, we went. Her brother went to the trailer. Well, when we got there to the trailer, her brother busted door down and he busted door down and found her butt ass naked. her leg was up under the the arm chair. But when the doc. Before all this happened, I went and picked her up because she called me and asked me to come get her. Because her. And then was arguing, and I. I picked her up off the back truck. The bike trail, brother, on South Road. Well, I took her there to pick up a wallet from his she never came back out. And I just left. The guy that was with me. He he he just seethed now. he told me, he said, don't get involved with this. Don't get involved with this crystal, because she's going to go well, when I finally talked to her and I told her, I said, you need to come home, you know, they would never let her that's all I remember that her mom and her brother called me because they found her butt And so it sounds like the relationship that she had with. Was she living with him in this trailer? And were you there frequently or did she live somewhere else? What they meant. They was living with him there. Okay? Yeah, she was living with him because he moved out of my out of my house and moved down with him. I told her, I said, you making a bad idea because I told him he couldn't stay at my house because him and her just constantly argue. And I wasn't going to have that about my children. But that's the last time I talked to her when I dropped her off. And so you you saw evidence of, we'll call it an unhealthy relationship and warn her, right, that this was something that she probably shouldn't do. Yeah. Yeah I did. Okay. And then when you got the phone call from LA. Tanya's mom, did you go straight to the hospital? Did you go over to the trailer? No, I went straight to the hospital where LaTonya was. And that didn't look like her. And I stand beside her the whole time and like I was begging her to come back alive. I was begging her. And after that, the sheriff's department picked me up. And then they. They did an interview with you, right? Yeah, yeah. Tell us a little bit about that interview. You just told us exactly what you remember that day. And I would imagine that you said the same thing to them. And what what was their reaction when you told them what you had observed? They told me that I was going to do some investigation and that whenever they need me or ask for any questions, they will let me know. Well, after all that, I haven't heard back from nobody. I didn't spoke with nobody. I even asked what's on his mom. Has she found out about anything? Because I was married in the family. In that dude's family, you know, and that they're called my marriage to my husband. yeah I got a son by that family you know. But I do attack my son, my son. Don't go around them. Mhm. But they, they alcoholic. The guy is they are drunk. They do drugs. Um you know and what I heard put somebody out, but I heard there was two more guys there when the, when it But I don't know how true it is. The law didn't investigate I don't know. Tell us what you heard about what happened to her from the time that you left her, um, that day. And then her mom found her. Her mom called me and told me that they found And I didn't know what to But the dude that she was when they said he was at the hospital too. And how that puzzle went. It didn't just didn't add up, right? That's how I feel, that I put it. was able to get some documentation from the sheriff's office and um quite a bit of it is what was happening at the hospital. And it's my understanding that it was um, a strangulation that then caused a blood clot and then a blood, that blood clot in her throat caused a stroke. And then, um, that is ultimately, um, what caused her death? Am I right about that? Yeah. Okay. That does line up with what I was able to read. It's, um. I was about to say, um. It's unfortunate, but I'm going to use a different word. I think it's, um. I don't know the right word. Uh, it's tragic that this isn't a name that is known to us. And we live here in Wakulla County, and that's right. It does. When I found out about LaTonya, I was a little bit surprised, because we've only always been under the assumption that Jodie Kilgore is the only unsolved homicide. And we'll call the county, and people nod their heads and say, yes, that's true. And then I learn about LaTonya, and I learn that there is documentation of a strangulation that caused a blood clot, that caused a stroke, that caused her death. And I'm like, that means that this Jodie Kilgore is not the only unsolved homicide in Wakulla County, because no one has ever been arrested for LaTonya. Is homicide correct? No. So this was sort of I'm still struggling with the right word, but this was very eye opening to me in a in a sense, I kind of felt like I was like the, um, like the wool was pulled over my eyes because we've had several conversations with people across the county and with law enforcement, and no one's ever said her name. And and so we are here to make sure that people say her name. And everyone in the county knows that LaTanya Thomas is the victim of an unsolved homicide in Wakulla County. Yeah, just like they never me or Thomas saying or, um, Pam, we ain't heard back from That ain't told us Tell us a little bit about the impact that Tonya's death has had on you. Well, I'll take it strong. It hurts. I miss my friend every day. You know, I can't make friends with other people. And all I got is my children. You know, after I lost LaTonya, I lost my friend Vicki. You know, all three of us start together. All three of us. And I lost my best friends. And I don't have nobody but my Then after I lost them, I lost my mother. You know, I lost my son from a murder case from Jeff Dugger, a homicide. I know y'all ain't heard about that. Did y'all know that's not what I'm familiar with, either? Uh, no, I have not heard of that. Well, yeah, from my county. This is very eye opening in a really sad way. And we're just really grateful that you have come forward and that you're sharing this information with us. And is there anything that we did not give you an opportunity to speak about or something that you'd like to say that we didn't specifically ask you about? No. I do have a follow up question. Um, it seems clear to me that you have a hope that the sheriff's office will do more than they're doing. What would you like from the community? Now that we are making sure that people are aware of LaTonya, and they have a little bit of information about what has happened. What would you like to have from the Wakulla County community? I work out the county road. We'll find out who. What? What really happened? What happened? Whoever really done this to her? Because it's pretty bad that I heard it wasn't just one person. It was three guys. And I think them three guys need to be a judge being present. You've been listening to tragedy, a true crime podcast. Our purpose is to honor victims by sharing their stories through the voices of friends, family and those whose lives were forever changed. If today's episode resonated with you, we encourage you to subscribe, leave a review, and share the podcast so these important stories continue to be heard. Together, we can preserve their memories and ensure their voices are never forgotten. 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