Shamekka Lenea Garnett

Background

Kathy Marie Griffin was born November 11, 1966, to Whitney and Mary Griffin. She had two sisters, Rakelya and Larisse. She had three children: Katrina, Pretori and Taimiak. She returned to her hometown of Oakdale in March 1994 to live with her mother at 502 E. Jackson Street.

Case Summary

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Suspects/Persons of Interest

No suspects or persons of interest have been publicly identified.

Timeline

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Limited Available Information – Can You Help?

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Pages Dedicated to [Victim]

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Contact the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office at (318) 473-6727 or Crime Stoppers at (318) 443-7867. Whenever possible, firsthand information should be reported directly. If you prefer, you may submit information through our Tip Form for forwarding to the appropriate authorities.

S&J Investigative Notes

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Sources

The Town Talk, “Bound, Gagged Teen Found Dead in Grant Gravel Pit,” September 15, 1980.

rev 08/22/26

META – Patricia Lena Cobaugh, 18, was found murdered near Fishville, Louisiana, in 1980. Can you help solve this cold case homicide?

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Background

Shamekka Lenae Garnett was born August 19, 1983, in Pineville, Louisiana, to Nedria Garnett and Michael Daniels. She was also known by the surname Daniels.

At the time of her death, Shamekka lived at 3108 Fourth Street in Alexandria, Louisiana. She had a brother, Julius Garnett, and sister, Venechor Garnett.

She was killed, just two days before her 21st birthday.

Case Summary

On Friday, August 13, 2004, Shamekka left her Fourth Street home in Alexandria at approximately 11:30 p.m. in a friend’s vehicle. The vehicle was later found abandoned at the Lee Street on-ramp to Interstate 49.
Shamekka did not return home, but she was not reported missing. Her family became concerned after learning that the body of an unidentified young woman had been discovered and contacted the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office.
On the afternoon of August 17, three men repairing a fence along Old Boyce Highway discovered Shamekka’s body down a five-foot embankment near a drainage ditch, approximately one mile from Airbase Road. Her body was positioned where it could not easily be seen by passing motorists.
Investigators believed Shamekka had been killed elsewhere and her body later left at the site. They estimated that she was killed sometime between August 13 and August 15 but could not determine how long her body had been there.
Shamekka was identified through fingerprints. An autopsy determined that she had been strangled. She had ligature marks on her neck and a fractured hyoid bone, indicating that pressure had been applied to her neck. Investigators did not disclose whether they believed she had been strangled with an object or by someone’s hands. Her body was taken to Bossier City for autopsy. Shamekka was positively identified through fingerprints.

The autopsy determined that Shamekka had been strangled. Investigators reported ligature marks around her neck and a fractured hyoid bone, an injury indicating pressure had been applied to her neck. Authorities did not publicly establish whether she had been strangled manually or with an object.
Investigators began reconstructing Shamekka’s activities during the weekend she disappeared, attempting to determine where she went and who she had been with. By September 2004, detectives had pursued several leads and taken DNA samples, but none had resulted in an arrest. Additional evidence collected during the investigation was still undergoing testing.

Detectives worked to reconstruct Shamekka’s movements during the weekend she disappeared, including determining where she went after leaving home and who may have been with her. They pursued several leads, collected evidence and obtained DNA samples from individuals during the investigation, but no arrest was made.
The case remained under investigation in the years that followed. In 2008, Shamekka’s homicide was among the cases reviewed by the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Task Force. Investigators also compared information from her case with unsolved killings in Jefferson Davis Parish, although no connection was established.

Possible Relevant Circumstances
Another young Alexandria woman, 19-year-old Courtney Coco, was murdered less than two months after Shamekka.
During the investigation into Courtney’s October 2004 death, authorities developed a person of interest in that case. At the time, Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Detective Buddy Willis, who was investigating Shamekka’s homicide, shared information with Alexandria investigators. Authorities said only that there was a possibility the cases could be connected; no connection was established.
Later accounts provided additional context: Courtney and Shamekka were friends, and Courtney’s family reportedly found a copy of Shamekka’s obituary among Courtney’s belongings after Courtney’s death. Courtney’s mother subsequently expressed her belief that the two murders could be connected. Law enforcement, however, did not publicly confirm a connection between the cases.