In the small town of Warren, Rhode Island, Amon Jamiel, a 60-year-old male, was a well-known and beloved figure. A prominent member of a large family with deep roots in the community, he was the proprietor of a popular local business. However, the months leading up to his death were marked by a series of troubling events that shattered the peace of his life. He began noticing that money was disappearing from his store. In January 1978, a significant sum of over $4,000 was stolen from a hiding place within the business. The situation escalated dramatically on March 13, 1978, when his store, the General Supply Co., was ravaged by a fire that investigators believed was intentionally set. Despite this devastating setback, Jamiel was determined to rebuild and carry on.
Just six days after the fire, on the afternoon of Sunday, March 19, 1978, Jamiel was busy moving items from his fire-damaged store to a new location. He took a break to attend an annual clam boil down the street before returning to finish his work for the day. Later that evening, his wife and son returned home to their residence at 33 Miller Street after celebrating her birthday in Newport. They made a horrifying discovery. In an upstairs bathroom, they found Amon Jamiel lifeless in the shower, the victim of a brutal attack. He had been shot multiple times in the head and abdomen. There were no signs of forced entry into the home.
The investigation into the murder was chaotic from the start, with the crime scene not being properly secured as family members gathered in the house. Police believed the murder weapon was a. 32-caliber revolver that had been taken from Jamiel's store, a weapon that has never been recovered. Despite investigations and grand jury hearings in the years that followed, no one has ever been arrested for the crime, and the case officially remains unsolved. Over the years, suspicion has swirled and at times focused on members of his own family, leading to deep divisions among his relatives. His youngest son, Jonathan, was publicly identified as a suspect at one point, though a grand jury did not indict him. The violent death of the popular shopkeeper remains one of Warren's most infamous and talked-about cold cases.
