In the quiet community of Mink Shoals, just outside Charleston, West Virginia, a heart-wrenching discovery was made on August 23, 2021. Inside a home on Eskdale Drive, relatives found the bodies of 24-year-old Alicia Thomas, a White/Caucasian female, and her 5-year-old daughter, Myra. The Kanawha County Sheriff's Office was called to the scene, where their investigation quickly pointed to a devastating act of domestic violence.
The primary suspect in the deaths of Alicia and her young
daughter was identified as Alicia's husband, 29-year-old Donald "DJ" Thomas, Jr. He was also found deceased at the residence from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, with a firearm believed to be the weapon used in the killings found next to him. The incident was investigated as a double murder-suicide.
Miraculously, the couple's youngest child, a 17-month-old daughter named Lona, was found alive at the scene. She had sustained a critical gunshot wound to the head and was immediately flown to Cincinnati Children's Hospital for emergency surgery. Doctors were able to remove a bullet from her head, and she was listed in critically stable condition in the ICU.
The investigation into the tragic events revealed a history of domestic turmoil. Donald Thomas, Jr. had previous charges related to domestic violence. In November 2018, he was charged with two counts of domestic battery involving both his wife, Alicia, and his mother. Those charges were ultimately dismissed in November 2019. More recently, he had been arrested in February 2021 on another domestic battery charge against his wife. However, that case was dismissed in June 2021 when Alicia did not appear in court. The day of the fatal incident, deputies were dispatched to the home for a well-being check after family members became concerned, leading to the grim discovery.
