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Hernando Today

Year-Old Homicide Becomes Cold Case

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By KYLE MARTIN

Hernando Today

Published: December 11, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - Dominique Lewis had already been found when she was reported missing Dec. 12.

It just took 24 hours for her family to realize she was the woman found dead in a lonely patch of woods in northern Hernando County.

That one answer led to a whole host of other questions, principally: Who killed the 19-year-old St. Petersburg woman?

A year ago today, a CSX worker followed a foul odor into the woods that border Brooksville Rock Road. He found a body. She had been there four to five days.

Investigators didn't know who she was. A description of the deceased's tattoos and jewelry was released to the public in hopes of solving that half of the mystery.

Her family came forward soon after to say that it was their daughter. Still unknown, though, is how she met her end and that's proved to be a much tougher assignment.

Lewis' death was officially termed a cold case this week. On Wednesday, a Hernando Today reporter sat down with the detective who will be handling the case from this point forward, Jim Boylan, and another investigator, Detective Sergeant Billy Beetz.

Here's what they had to say:

Lewis was last seen Nov. 30, 2007. She was staying with her boyfriend, Jeremy Grisby, at the Bay Breeze Motel in St. Petersburg. They had a "disagreement." Lewis left around midnight. And that's where the trail goes cold.

Lewis didn't show up for class at the Ultimate Medical Academy in Clearwater the next day. Her car, a two-door, white 1994 Ford Probe, was found abandoned in St. Petersburg.
Grisby was questioned and arrested, but on an unrelated rape charge. He remains a person of interest, Boylan said, but there's currently no evidence to tie him to Lewis' death.

Investigators have spent hours passing out flyers in St. Petersburg, questioning friends and known associates. They discovered Lewis was involved in an adult online chat room and phone service, but detectives declined to name the company.

That produced a myriad of empty leads because people involved with the service were reluctant to give up their name or contact information.

Still, Lewis met a lot of people that way and "it could be very important" to the case, Boylan said.

Boylan has been peripherally involved in the investigation since the beginning, so he's familiar with the key players. But now that it's a cold case, it will be up to him to re-interview roughly 75 people again and take another look at the dead-end leads.

It can actually be a productive process because memories have a way of re-surfacing over time, Boylan said. Maybe someone thought of something and didn't bother to call it in. Another possibility is that the killer has slipped up and revealed a pertinent detail to someone.

Much of the focus has been with friends and associates in the St. Petersburg area. Boylan will be moving northward now, tracking leads in Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties.

Lewis was found in the woods that border Brooksville Rock Road, off Citrus Way and a few miles south of Citrus County. Beetz said investigators "extensively" canvassed the surrounding neighborhood, but their search was fruitless.

For all its development, Hernando County still has miles and miles of rural tracts that could serve as a body dumping ground. Beetz believes that this spot was deliberately chosen.

Asked if frustration ever sets in after a lead goes flat, Beetz said every interview provides some piece to the puzzle, however small.

"There's always something positive," he said.

How You Can Help:

Call sheriff's Detective Jim Boylan at 352-754-6830 if you've ever known or seen Dominique Lewis or have any information about her disappearance. Anonymous tips can be made to Crimestoppers at 1-866-990-TIPS (8477) or you can submit one electronically at hernandosheriff.org.

Lewis is described as a black female, with braided hair who had extensions about 8 1/2 inches long and was dark brown with purple coloring toward the ends. She had four earring holes in her ear, but only three pieces of jewelry were recovered: A square, clear stud; a small yellow gold hoop; and a small silver and copper hoop with dolphins.

On the top left wrist area was the name Jeremy or Jimmy in Old English-lettering and a star on either side of the name. The word Libra, also in Old English, was found on the top of her right foot. Her other foot had unrecognizable tattoos.

Reporter Kyle Martin can be reached at 352-544-5271 or kmartin@hernandotoday.com.

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