Local officials are investigating the unexpected death of former American swimming champion Jamie Cail. The standout swimmer in the late 90s was found unresponsive in her home in the Virgin Islands last Tuesday.
The Virgin Islands Police Department said in a statement: “This case is presently under investigation by the Criminal Investigation Bureau.”
As many await the results of an autopsy, former Virgin Island Police Commissioner Rodney Querrard is asking the public to step forward and share any information that could be pertinent to the case. Querrard also wrote a letter to the editor of the Virgin Islands Daily News:
“Why is this happening? Why is this continuing to happen? Why do so many cases go unsolved?” Querrard wrote.
The former commissioner warned: “The only answer I have is, as long as we continue to be complacent and see (don’t see), and hear (don’t hear), it will continue.”
Querrard noted that most of the island violence is tied to “turf wars between rival gangs or drug dealers” but warned that the violence would continue if witnesses kept silent.
The former commissioner added: Calling an anonymous tip into Crime Stoppers USVI at 1-800-222-TIPS is an “untraceable” way to report information to investigators.
As of last week, island police have reported five homicides in 2023.
Fox News reported that her boyfriend, Kamal Thomas, found Cail’s unresponsive body. He reportedly rushed Cail, 42, to a local hospital where physicians administered CPR. However, medical personnel were unable to revive her.
Thomas maintains he and Cail lived together and that he found her on the floor after coming home from a bar around midnight. Thomas’ past violent criminal record, which includes a murder charge, led police to consider him a suspect. Police have not yet made any arrests in the case.
Police spokesman Glen Dratte noted on Wednesday morning that autopsy results were pending.
ABC7 News reported that Cail won a gold medal at the 1997 Pan Pacific Championships as a member of the U.S. women’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay and a silver medal in November 1998 at the FINA Swimming World Cup in Brazil in the women’s 800-meter freestyle.
Lindsay Mintenko, managing director of the U.S. national swimming team, said: “USA Swimming is saddened to hear of Jamie Cail’s passing. Jamie was a proud member of our National Teams in the late 1990s and was a cherished teammate. We extend our condolences to Jamie’s friends and family.”
Former teammate Jooyoung Lee said he “never met anyone who had a work ethic like Jamie.”
“She was so tough… a serious competitor,” he added, “but outside the pool, she was a very sweet and sensitive person.”
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