What deputies say about investigation of Jamilla Smith’s death
AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - It’s been nearly two months since Jamilla “Millie” Smith vanished from her home off Old Jackson Highway.
Her boyfriend Daniel Harmon is behind bars facing a list of charges, including her murder.
On Monday, her father’s side of the family broke their silence on the pain and questions they have for law enforcement.
Public Information Officer Eric Abdullah with the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office says unlike what you see on TV shows and movies, murder investigations take time to produce clear answers and some evidence can take longer than others to get back.
“Every case is going to be different from one another, regardless of similarities to other cases. It does take a tremendous amount of resources to investigate murder cases,” said Abdullah.
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He says they have to get it right the first time.
And an arrest warrant is just the first piece to solving the puzzle.
“One thing, we’d like people to understand is when we make an arrest, the investigation doesn’t stop. We’re continuing to follow up. The evidence has to be looked at and analyzed,” said Abdullah.
Next comes the data.
In Jamilla’s case, they are waiting on things like cell phone records, which can take a long time to come back.
“Electronic data is not easily obtained, as you will see on an edited show. It takes a tremendous amount of time and resources to where you have to submit those affidavits of probable cause for why you need this information. The circuit court judge has to sign off on it and submit it to those locations in order to get that information back. They don’t just automatically turn around and give it to you,” said Abdullah.
Oftentimes, it does produce answers. Just not ones they can release right away.
“We can’t release evidence and we can’t just open up our investigative file and say ‘Here you go.’ We have some sensitive information in there including our timeline that we’re building and analyzing electronic data, all the locations that we searched, and documentation from that all those things are essential to building a case. Releasing information prematurely could jeopardize the success or prosecution in this case,” said Abdullah.
He says the sheriff’s office encourages families like Jamilla’s to continue to speak out and tell their stories and keep their loved one’s name alive.
If you know of any information as to where her body could be, please the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office.
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