The boyfriend of the US swimming champion who was mysteriously found dead at their home on the Virgin Islands is a career criminal and was jailed for 10 years for a violent brawl, according to reports. Kamal Thomas, 34, was convicted of charges related to the beating death of a 21-year-old tourist in 2007.
According to three separate sources who spoke to Fox News Digital, Kamal "Six Pack" Thomas was dating New Hampshire swimming star Jamie Cail at the time of her death. Cail, 42, was found unresponsive around midnight on February 21 by Thomas after he returned home from a bar. Police have now launched a criminal investigation into her suspicious death.
Bad Boy Thomas
According to sources who confirmed the information to Fox News Digital 'Bad boy' Kamal Thomas was in a relationship with Cail. He found Cail at their house after coming home from the bar.
Thomas spent fighting against serious charges after he and three other men attacked James Cockayne, 21, hours before he died. According to Cockayne's mother, Thomas was "bad to the bone" and is suspected of attacking the tourist Cockayne in 2007 while he was visiting the island.
Initially, Thomas was found guilty of two counts of third-degree assault and related weapons charges. Nevertheless, his conviction was overturned in 2008 after it emerged that the prosecution had withheld a crucial piece of trial-related evidence.
After a second trial in 2010, Thomas was found guilty of third-degree assault, simple assault, offenses involving weapons, and threatening a witness.
According to the V.I. Daily News, he received a total sentence of 10 years in prison with two years suspended as well as an $11,750 fine.
"It's very difficult to get justice in the Virgin Islands," Cockayne's mother, Jeanie Cockayne, told Fox News. "Very difficult."
According to Fox News, Cockayne's mother claimed that her family hired private detectives to investigate the matter and provided information to authorities. The outlet reported that the men responsible for her son's death were able to win appeals and go through several trials before being sentenced to prison.
She added that Cail's family will have to "fight for it" if they wanted justice for their loved one.
Mystery Continues
This comes as police continue their investigation into Cail's death. According to police, Cail, who was a high school swimming champion, was found unresponsive at her home by her boyfriend Thomas but they have yet to confirm the identity of the person.
According to a Virgin Islands Police Department official speaking to CNN on Tuesday, an autopsy for the Maine native is currently ongoing, and detectives are "anxiously awaiting" the results, which will include a toxicology report.
Virgin Islands authorities told CNN on Tuesday that the Criminal Investigative Bureau reviews every death and that Cail's case now has "a lot of moving components."
Thomas found the fo rmer swimmer turned coffee barista lying on the ground after leaving a club around midnight on February 21, according to authorities. Police said, Cail "succumbed to her ailment" after being taken to a nearby hospital by her boyfriend and a friend, reports boston.com.
According to the swimming news website Swim Swam, Cail competed across the Country as a child, including capturing a gold medal for the US in a relay race at the 1997 Pan Pacific Championships.
A sociologist at the University of Toronto named Jooyoung Lee claimed on Twitter that he and Cail were teammates in high school.
"Jamie had an unmatched work ethic. She left everything in each practice and became a world class distance swimmer through grit. Rest in peace to a real one," Lee wrote.
Cail still holds the record for the 200-yard fly, 400-yard IM, 200-meter IM, and 400-meter IM in the 15-16 age group.
