Jeremy Abbott was last seen alive on the afternoon of June 16, 2017.  His body was found hanging from a tree on July 21, 2017.  Even though there were countless suspicious circustances surrounding his disappearnace and death, his death was ruled a suicide before his body was removed from the scene that day.  No autopsy was done and there are indications that his death was determined to be a suicide without the coroner ever even coming to the scene to view the body as required by law.  Please take a minute to read the details as they are shocking and quite compelling.  Jeremy's death lead to the disappearance and likely murder of a beautiful young mother, Jessica Hamby.  It was Jessica who told law enforcement where to find Jeremy.  Not only does Jeremy’s death deserve a proper and thorough investigation for Jeremy and his loved ones, but the disappearance of Jessica Hamby will not likely be solved until the true reason behind her disappearance and murder is acknowledged.  

Circumstances that strongly suggest Jeremy Abbott was murdered:

1.  Jessica Hamby, who disappeared 5 1/2 months later to never be found, told law enforcement where to find Jeremy's body.  Jessica was scared.  She told many people that Jeremy was murdered and that she knew who did it.  She was promised protection by law enforcement in exchange for the information she gave but they did not provide it.  If Jeremy committed suicide, why was a promise of protection even needed?  Why was Jessica scared if he killed himself?

2. The last known person to see Jeremy alive, Joshua Levi Hyde, sent Jeremy's mom a message after Jeremy disappeared. Josh wrote "go ahead and file a report because Jeremy isn't ever coming home again."  Jeremy was later found just 30-40 feet into the wood line where this man was living.  If Jeremy killed himself, why not just say that?  How did he know Jeremy was never coming home again?  

3. Once Jeremy was reported missing, there were countless people who made false statements about seeing Jeremy alive.  More than one of those people admitted, even to law enforcement, that they were forced and threatened to make those false statements by Jesse Abbott, Jeremy Abbott's cousin.

4. Jesse Abbott was reportedly pretending to be Jeremy to try to fool people into believing that they saw Jeremy.

5. The man who last reported to see Jeremy alive stated he walked off with his phone.  A man named Juan Ortega got caught red handed with Jeremy’s phone while he was still missing and he was trying to guess the password to access it.  When forced to give the phone to Jeremy’s mom, Juan cried and stated that they were going to kill him.  Juan then abruptly and unexpectedly moved to Texas and to our knowledge, has never returned.  If Jeremy simply walked into the woods and killed himself by hanging himself 18-20 feet up in a tree, how did Juan Ortega gain possession of Jeremy’s phone?

6. Jeremy is said to have been found hanging in a tree in clear view to numerous people on a daily basis for 33 days per law enforcement in the exact place he was reported to law enforcement to last be seen.  How did those people not see him?  Not smell him?  Not find him?  Not even look for him?

7. Jeremy's mom still to this day doesn't even know what Jeremy was hung with.  One law enforcement agency told her it was a size 36 men's belt.  Jeremy didn't wear belts and weighed approximately 100 lbs so it definitely couldn't have been his belt.  If he was hung by a size 36 mens belt, where did he get the belt?  Another law enforcement agency told Jeremy's mom that he hung himself with a belt off a car.  Jeremy was reportedly found hanging from the lowest limb on a pine tree and that limb was estimated to be 18-20 feet high.  It’s questionable that a man would be able to scale a tree of that height and hang himself with a clothing belt.  It isn't physically possible for a man to climb 18-20 feet up to the lowest limb of a pine tree and hang himself with a belt off a car.  Why are there 2 different stories by the 2 different law enforcement agencies on the scene that day?

8. Our sources on the scene told us that Jeremy was located because the investigator and officer could smell him when they reached the edge of the woods.  The odor was described to us as being quite strong.  If you remember, Kimberly also described how awful the smell was when she went to the funeral home to view his body.  This is extremely significant.  We had our own thoughts and suspicions about this so we consulted with a qualified physician.  He pointed us to The Forensics Library and an article that describes the 5 steps of decomposition of human remains.  This article was very informative and it noted the average time each of these stages last.  24+ days after death is considered to be the dry stage.  It is the final stage of decomposition and the article notes that in this stage, the human remains are primarily just bones, a little dried skin and cartilage.  It states that there is typically NO odor at this stage.  Jeremy was found 32 days after he was reported missing but the investigators indicated they believed he had been dead since at least one day prior to that so Jeremy had been deceased 33 days at the time he was found.  The decomposition rate is often greatly impacted by temperature and environment.  Lower temperatures can slow decomposition but warm temperatures accelerate those timelines.  Alabama weather in June and July is hot and humid so Jeremy would have decomposed much more quickly than the timeframes noted.  To sum it up, if Jeremy had been hanging in that tree for 33 days, the strong odor described by our sources on the scene would not have been present.  This is something that investigators and a coroner conducting death investigations would be expected to know.  

9. We have consulted with several doctors and others with experience in death investigations.  None of them think it is likely that Jeremy would have still been hanging from that tree limb 33 days later in the Alabama summer heat.

10. Jeremy’s mom was able to confirm that the remains were her son’s because the tattoo on his chest was still visible.  She also described his skin as being black.  Again, we’ve been told that this description does not fit what you would expect to see after 33 days of decomposition in the Alabama heat and humidity.

11. Jeremy’s mother was contacted by a law enforcement officer that was on the scene when Jeremy’s body was found and asked what funeral home she wanted him taken to.  That would indicate that no foul play was suspected and there would be no autopsy, and that decision was made prior to the body leaving the scene.

12. No autopsy was conducted.  The county coroner’s records were never turned over to his successor, as required by Alabama Law (36-12-4).  The coroner’s records do not reflect that an external examination was performed, there are no notes or description of clothing, bruising, other wounds, or the instrument used to hang the body.  No photographs were received with the coroner’s records.  There are no notes or reports of persons interviewed at the scene, no sketch or photographs of the scene, etc.  

If you’d like to learn more about both of these cases, please listen to Secrets True Crime Podcast - Season 3 - The Disappearance of Jessica Hamby.  https://www.youtube.com/c/SecretsTrueCrime

Jeremy Abbott & his family deserve a full and fair investigation instead of a cover up.  Jessica Hamby's case will not be solved as long as law enforcement refuses to acknowledge that Jeremy Abbott was murdered.  Leaving murderers on the street is a danger to all in the community.

Jeremy Abbott's family has been pleading for justice for over 5 long years now.  Jessica Hamby's family has been searching for her for more than 4.5 years.  Both families need help and answers.