'This is only the beginning': Investigator, police speak after Jamilla Smith's remains found (2024)

Even though the remains of missing womanJamilla "Millie" Shanae' Smithhave been found, her family and police say the case is far from over.

“This won’t be a closure and this is only the beginning,” private investigator Chandra Cleveland said this week. “The trial has to come up and it will once again open up old wounds once he (ex-boyfriend Daniel Harmon) tells in court what he did."

Human remains were found May 10 after investigators were led to a wooded area in the 2100 block of Silver Bluff Road. The remains were identified as Smith, the family was notified and an autopsy was ordered.

Based on an autopsy conducted May 13, Smith's cause of death was due to gunshot wounds to the head, according to Aiken County Coroner Darryl Ables.

“We wish that the result could have been something else, but we knew based on our investigation going in, it could have been a potentiality,” said Capt. Eric Abdullah with the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office.

Smith was first reported missing by her mother on Dec. 3, 2023, after she didn't hear from her daughter or pick up her child from school. Smith’s ex-boyfriend, 34-year-old Daniel Harmon, 35-year-old Bryan Hampton Jr. and 35-year-old Clyde Hendley, have been arrested and charged in the case.

Harmon is facing charges of murder, kidnapping and second-degree domestic violence. He also has separate drug charges not connected to this case.

Harmon has been in the custody of police since Dec. 5 after a standoff at a home in the 400 block of Carpentersville Road that occurred while police tried to serve him with a second-degree domestic violence warrant. The warrant stated Harmon strangled Smith on Nov. 10 while a juvenile was present.

The complainant spoke with Smith via FaceTime on Dec. 2 and said Smith had argued with Harmon while driving back from Columbia, according to an Aiken County Sheriff’s Office incident report.

Later that evening, around 8:48 p.m., the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch Center received a 911 call from an unknown female caller, who said her ex-boyfriend came to the residence and she tried to get away from him.

The caller began to scream and the dispatcher heard a male voice tell the caller to get into the vehicle and the phone went silent. Police returned to the residence around 12:30 a.m. on Dec. 3 to check the area and didn’t see any vehicles, people or signs of forced entry.

Hampton and Hendley are both facing charges of accessory after the fact for murder for their involvement in the case. Warrants said Hampton assisted Harmon in providing transportation, purchased a cellphone and helped Harmon in the disposal of Smith’s remains.

Hendley helped Harmon dispose of Smith’s body and physical evidence from a vehicle used to transport her body at an address in the 150 block of Front Street in Bath, according to police.

Cleveland said the family is upset about what happened overall to Smith.

“There is no closure here,” she said. “Closure will never happen until justice and everything is completed.”

The long road andhope

Cleveland said finding Smith’s remains has been hard for the her mother because Smith would make Mother's Day special.

“On behalf of the family, her mother Tina is happy and sad with mixed emotions because it was Mother’s Day and Jamilla always went all out on Mother’s Day," Cleveland said.

Cleveland said police did a good job of staying on top of the case and got the results that were needed.

Cleveland urged the community to continue to continue to pray for the family as they begin "the next phase of getting justice for Millie."

Abdullah said even though Smith’s remains have been located and three people are in custody, the investigation hasn’t stopped. He said the next step is to get the case ready for court with help from the Second Judicial Circuit Solicitor's office.

“Currently where we are at with the investigation is where we were able to make these three arrests,” he said. “It’s pretty evident that we will be proceeding in that direction and give justice for Jamilla and her family.”

Abdullah said missing persons cases are pretty challenging because sometimes you find the person very quickly and sometimes you don’t.

He said the case was handled by an exceptional investigations team, other agencies and Smith’s family. He said the community’s help is what led them to find Jamilla Smith.

“We as law enforcement cannot investigate crimes by ourselves,” he said. “The continued support is what drives us.”

He said the ultimate goal is to see a conviction in the case, but having hope played a key role while investigating the case. He said if someone cares there is hope.

“I have said this before, we only get one opportunity to get it right and as you can see as this case has progressed we have been getting it right,” he said.