Mystery Looms Over Young American Found Dead at Apartment in US Virgin Islands
More than a month after a 22-year-old Alabama woman was found dead in the U.S. Virgin Islands, officials are not saying what killed her.
Lily Ledbetter of Opelika was found dead on June 6, according to the New York Post.
At the time, she lived in the town of Cruz Bay on the island of St. John.
A call was received to respond to her apartment at 12:33 p.m. that day, according to the Virgin Islands Consortium. Twenty minutes later, Ledbetter was declared dead.
Virgin Islands Police Department representative Glen Dratte said officials were still waiting for an autopsy and toxicology report, the Post reported Monday.
Ledbetter arrived in the Virgin Islands after graduating from Auburn University.
“Her sparkling smile, contagious laugh, and spice for life inspired everyone she met. Knowing Lily, loving Lily, and being loved by Lily were transforming,” her obituary said.
“Lily lit up a room when she entered. She met no strangers, and her laughter and zest for life were infectious. As an animal lover, especially cats, she spent time working at the animal shelter in St. John. Lily was everyone’s best friend,” the obituary said.
“To see Lily dance was awe-inspiring. She was absolutely captivating, and her passion illuminated the stage. Lily was an accomplished, multi award-winning dancer. In dance, Lily was truly free- free to be herself -free to express herself,” it said.
Former dance teacher Mandy Moore, owner of the Make Your Move Performing Arts Studio in Opelika, honored Ledbetter on June 17, the day of her memorial service.
“I will always remember the twinkle in your eye and the love that filled the room when you walked in,” Moore wrote on Facebook.
“I only wished I had held on and never let you go when I saw you a few weeks ago. I am so thankful that you came home to MYM and I got one of those big Lily hugs. Your legacy of love and light will forever live on inside our studio,” she wrote.
The Post report noted that in February, former U.S. swimming champ Jamie Cail, 42, died after she was found unresponsive in her home in St. John, with no information released about the cause.
Cail’s boyfriend, Kamal Thomas, was convicted in the beating death of James Cockayne, 21, outside a bar in St. John in 2007, according to Fox News.
The victim’s mother, Jean Cockayne, has had harsh words for police in the Virgin Islands.
“The police aren’t going to do anything, everyone knows everyone on the island or they are related, so they cover for each other. No one wants to lose their tourist dollars,” she said in March, according to the U.K.’s Daily Mail.
“Our case was very, very complicated, and the VIPD [Virgin Islands Police Department] are just as inept now as they were then. People who go to the island just think it won’t happen to them, but it can,” Cockayne said.
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