Oct. 30, 2002 – Police on Wednesday arrested the boyfriend of a St. Croix woman whose body was found in her vehicle last August 50 feet under water in Krause Lagoon.
Homicide detectives on St. Croix arrested Kemore Boston, 32, shortly before 4:30 p.m. and charged him with the death of Chamonie Miller.
The arrest capped a nearly three-month investigation by the Criminal Investigation Bureau. Boston, a resident of Hannah's Rest, was taken into custody without incident on a warrant issued by Territorial Court Presiding Judge Maria Cabret.
Police Chief Novelle Francis said late Wednesday that details would be forthcoming Thursday at a mid-morning press conference. Attorney General Iver Stridiron, Police Commissioner Franz Christian, other Police Department officials and representatives of the U.S. Attorney's Office are expected to participate.
Boston, who goes by the names "Kemo" and "Big Dred," was held without bail pending an initial appearance on Thursday in Territorial Court.
While Francis declined to provide details about the circumstances that led to Boston's arrest, law-enforcement sources close to the investigation said the break in the case came when witnesses came forward to testify in support of evidence investigators had gathered.
Miller's body was found on Aug. 9 slumped behind the driver's seat of her late-model Ford Explorer. Divers found the vehicle submerged in Krause Lagoon on St. Croix's southwest shoreline. The discovery ended a five-day search for the Divi Carina Bay Casino employee, who had failed to return home after getting off work the night of Aug. 4.
The sport utility vehicle had sunk front end down in 50 feet of water off the lagoon dock, leading police to believe that it was run off the pier. Authorities have not said whether Miller was alive when the vehicle went into the water. Investigators believe that she and Boston got into a heated argument in the Castle Coakley area, where she had gone to pick him up. Boston, a Hovensa night-shift employee, did not work that night.
There have been unconfirmed reports that the weapon used to attack Miller was found in the SUV.
Miller failed to return home after finishing her Sunday night shift as a card dealer at the casino. She gave two co-workers a ride home from the Divi to Coakley Bay, about 10 minutes away. They were the last persons to report having see her.
An autopsy determined that Miller suffered blunt force trauma to her body.
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