REMEMBER Kaycha
Kaycha Smith
26 YEARS OLD ·
Marianna,
Florida
Kaycha Reshona Levette Smith was a mother, daughter, sister, healthcare worker, and beloved member of her Marianna community. A member of Saint Luke Missionary Baptist Church, Kaycha was remembered simply and powerfully by those who knew her: “To know her was to love her.” She left behind her young son, Kaedyn, as well as her parents, siblings, extended family, and many dear friends.
Kaycha Reshona Levette Smith was raised in the Marianna, Florida community and graduated from Marianna High School with the Class of 2009. She worked as a Certified Nursing Assistant at Marianna Health & Rehabilitation Center and was a member of Saint Luke Missionary Baptist Church.
Kaycha was the mother of a son, Kaedyn Lavar Smith, and part of a large, close family that included her parents, grandparents, four sisters, two brothers, and many extended relatives and friends. Her obituary described the memories she left behind as precious and captured how she was regarded by those around her with the words, “To know her was to love her.”
THE RECORD
Kaycha Smith, 25, was found dead on April 27, 2017, behind an abandoned packing house in Jackson County, Florida. She was pregnant at the time of her death and had suffered multiple wounds to her upper body. Investigators identified Daimeyon O’Neal, with whom Kaycha had been in a relationship, as a person of interest amid reports of recent domestic issues between them. O’Neal was subsequently arrested, and investigators recovered a handgun in Panama City that they believed was connected to the homicide.
RELATIONSHIP CONTEXT
Former Partner/ Father of her child
Kaycha and Daimeyon O’Neal had been in a romantic relationship. Contemporary reporting citing the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office documented reports of recent domestic issues between them before her death.
CHILDREN / ADDITIONAL VICTIMS
CHILDREN PRESENT — DOCUMENTED YES
ADDITIONAL VICTIMS
ADDITIONAL VICTIMS DOCUMENTED
Unborn Child
PATTERNS DOCUMENTED IN AVAILABLE RECORDS
These indicators reflect what could be established from available sources. Absence from this list does not establish that a behavior did not occur.
LEGAL / SYSTEM RESPONSE
Following Kaycha’s death, investigators identified Daimeyon O’Neal as a person of interest and later arrested him in Bay County on a murder charge. Investigators also recovered a handgun in Panama City believed to have been involved in the homicide. O’Neal later entered a no-contest plea to second-degree murder with a firearm and was sentenced to life in prison in March 2019.
INFORMATION LIMITATIONS
This record was converted from The Violet Thread's internal research database. Fields marked UNKNOWN were not established by the available coded record and do not mean the behavior did not occur. Remembrance and narrative fields require source-level QA before publication.
REMEMBER Kaycha.
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