Missing
Tomeka Jill Jefferson
Jefferson, approximately 1996; Courtney Williams
Date and time person was reported missing : 02/15/1996
Missing location (approx) :
Ellicott City, Maryland
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Female
Ethnicity :
Black
DOB : 12/07/1971 (49)
Age at the time of disappearance: 24 years old
Height / Weight : 5'5, 135 pounds
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: African-American female. Black hair, brown eyes. Jefferson's ears are pierced.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Jefferson disappeared with her boyfriend, 27-year-old Courtney A. Williams, on February 15, 1996. They were last seen at Williams's apartment in the 3000 block of Oak Green Circle in Ellicott City, Maryland. Jefferson spoke to her family at 10:00 p.m. and said she and Williams were about to go out. Neither of them were heard from again.
A photo of Williams is posted with this case summary. His roommate reported him missing on February 17, and Jefferson's family reported her missing on February 19. Her family initially thought she might have just gone on a short trip, but became worried because she had not reported to her job as a legal clerk at a Baltimore, Maryland law firm.
On February 21, Williams's 1995 Nissan Quest minivan was found abandoned behind an apartment building in the 4500 block of Old Frederick Road in west Baltimore, in an area noted for drug activity. There was no sign of either Williams or Jefferson at the scene.
On April 7, almost two months after the pair disappeared, Williams's body was found lying face-up in the Gwynns Falls area in the 4500 block of Wetheredsville Road, near Leakin Park, in Baltimore. He was a homicide victim; he had been shot multiple times. There was no indication of Jefferson's whereabouts.
Prior to his death, Williams was a drug dealer and may have made up to $30,000 a week. He had an arrest record, including charges of murder and drug possession that were dismissed. In May, Andre Johnson, a former Baltimore police officer, was charged with malfeasance, bribery and filing a false public document in connection with Williams's death. Just days before his arrest, he resigned from the police department after serving only a year.
Johnson had accepted $200 in cash for forging arrest documents for Thomas "Archie" Smith, one of Williams's lieutenants, so Smith could convince Williams that the police had seized his narcotics shipment. (Drug dealers often require their deputies to produce proof that their drugs were confiscated in police raids; if the deputy cannot prove this, they are accused of "ripping off" the dealer and are severely punished.) When police found Williams's abandoned minivan after his disappearance, the arrest documents were inside it, with Smith and Johnson's fingerprints on them.
In 1997, Johnson pleaded no contest to misconduct in office. He admitted he'd worked as an enforcer for Smith. He also said he'd listened to Smith and Christopher Black, Williams's brother, plot Williams's murder and did nothing to stop the murder from happening or to report the murder once it did happen.
In spite of Johnson's admissions in court and his statements about the murder plot he'd overheard, no one has ever been charged in Williams's murder or Jefferson's disappearance. Foul play is suspected in Jefferson's case due to the circumstances involved.
Other information and links : ncy
Baltimore County Police Department
410-887-2214
September 2021 updates and sources
A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are not known. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2�5% of missing children in Europe.
By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends.
Several organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and imAge at the time of disappearance: s of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece.
The Baltimore Sun
The Easton Star-Democrat
October 12, 2004. May 23, 2020; .
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
