Investigators traced the Missouri woman through rideshare records after reopening the long-unsolved manslaughter case.
A Missouri woman charged with killing two people, including her 12-year-old nephew, in a 2020 crash was arrested last week after federal marshals traced her through rideshare records and discovered she had been living under her sister’s identity.
Jiya Thomas-Felix was taken into custody June 25 in Florissant, Missouri, by the U.S. Marshals Service Eastern District of Missouri task force. She faces two counts of involuntary manslaughter stemming from a December 2020 crash in St. Louis County that killed the 12-year-old and one other person. An arrest warrant was issued Dec. 8, 2021, but Thomas-Felix remained at large for nearly five years.
St. Louis County Police reported that Thomas-Felix was driving at high speed when she lost control of her vehicle and crashed, killing both occupants.
The case went cold until April 2026, when the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office contacted the Marshals Service, flagging the aging warrant and requesting federal assistance in locating her.
Investigators caught a break through a December 2025 police report that had nothing to do with the manslaughter case. According to that report, a relative of Thomas-Felix called police after Thomas-Felix and her boyfriend allegedly pointed a gun at a minor child during an argument. The pair left in a rideshare before officers arrived.
Marshals investigators obtained search warrants for the rideshare company in May and used the account data to identify multiple addresses associated with Thomas-Felix. The records also revealed she had been using an alias — her sister’s name and identifying information.
Investigators located her at one of the addresses surfaced through the rideshare records and took her into custody without further incident.
