Friends of Jessica continue to seek justice

Submitted photo Jessica McCormack, of Noel, was discovered on July 29, 2019, near Missouri Highway 59 between Lanagan, Mo., and Noel. Her remains were stuffed in a suitcase. Her murder remains unsolved.
Submitted photo Jessica McCormack, of Noel, was discovered on July 29, 2019, near Missouri Highway 59 between Lanagan, Mo., and Noel. Her remains were stuffed in a suitcase. Her murder remains unsolved.

Friends of Jessica McCormack continue to fight for answers in her murder case. They're taking the matter into their own hands, raising funds and raising awareness to bring her murderer to justice.

Friends hope to hire a private investigator who will shed more light on the case.

They've also connected with podcasters who have highlighted the three-year-old case on-air.

They are confident they can uncover exactly what happened to McCormack, said friend Candace Nichole.

"We absolutely believe that this is something that can and should be solved," she said.

Jessica McCormack, of Noel, was discovered on July 29, 2019, near Missouri Highway 59 between Lanagan, Mo., and Noel. Her remains were stuffed in a suitcase.

McCormack was seen alive when law enforcement officers responded to a call at her home on July 16, 2019, according to an affidavit.

Officials have said that Mahamud Tooxoow Mahamed, 39, a Somali national, is facing a federal indictment of kidnapping McCormack's 4-year-old daughter.

The indictment alleges that Mahamed kidnapped a minor victim (identified in court documents as Jane Doe 1) and transported her from Missouri to Iowa.

McCormack has three daughters, identified in court documents as Jane Doe 1 (four years old), Jane Doe 2 (two years old), and Jane Doe 3 (six months old).

McCormack's children could not be located after her body was discovered and identified. An Amber Alert was issued for McCormack's three children, who were located at a residence in Des Moines, Iowa, and taken into state custody on Aug. 8, 2019. According to the affidavit, a woman who formerly worked with Mahamed at the Tyson plant in Noel told law enforcement officers that Mahamed arrived at her Des Moines residence with the children on Aug. 5, 2019. She discovered he had left on Aug. 8, 2019, the affidavit says, when she found a note from Mahamed informing her that he could not care for the children.

Investigators confirmed with the father of McCormack's oldest child that Mahamed did not have his consent to take Jane Doe 1 outside the state of Missouri.

Mahamed, who had been a fugitive from justice since the indictment, was arrested in Guatemala, expelled from that country, and returned to the United States, officials have said.

Since then, public court documents show that Mahamed's case has had several court dates, though no trial has yet occurred.

Most recently, a judge denied a motion to dismiss Mahamed's case. The order was signed on Dec. 7 by Judge Roseann A. Ketchmark of the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Southwestern Division.

The McDonald County Sheriff's Office has said that the FBI is now handling the case. A call to the Federal Bureau of Investigation office in Joplin was referred to the Kansas City office.

Bridget Patton, FBI spokesperson of the Kansas City office, said she could not give an update about the case.

"I am not at liberty to share information at this time," she said Tuesday afternoon.

However, a trio of McCormack's friends remain undaunted by what they consider to be a lag in finding answers.

Nichole, Mimi Bailey and Kendra Baker have banded together to speak to people in the community, make connections and learn more information that they can pass along to officials.

They've established a GoFundMe and hope to raise $7,000 to $10,000 to hire a private investigator, Nichole said.

"We do not believe Tito (Mahamed) could have done this on his own. There's been a lot of rumors circulating from the tweaker community, and it's hard to know what could be true or false," Nichole said.

Nichole also was instrumental in finding podcasters who took on the idea of keeping McCormack's case alive. One Nation Under Crime podcasters aired "2019: The Unsolved Case of Jessica McCormack" in June.

The podcast is part of a series orchestrated by a couple of friends who discuss true crime cases. The two highlighted Jessica's story and the many questions that remain.

"We're hoping to spread Jessica's story and gain support for our cause," Nichole said.

Podcasters believe the case could be solved easily. They also want to shed light on a horrific murder case that is fraught with addiction, domestic abuse and many unanswered questions.

"If one person hears Jessica's story and is, or knows someone who is struggling with addiction or in a domestic abuse situation, I hope Jessica's story encourages them to get out," they said during the podcast.

Friends believe the steps they are taking will uncover additional leads.

"That's exactly our hope," Scott said.