Family Seeks Answers After 19-Year-Old’s Body Found Near OKC’s Plaza District

The family of 19-year-old Jaedyn Hamilton is searching for answers after his body was discovered in a grassy area of northwest Oklahoma City. 

“All I want to know is how? Why?” said Aleatha Jones, Hamilton’s grandmother. 

A dog walker called Oklahoma City police to a grassy area near Northwest 16th Street and College Avenue after 10 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 5. According to an incident report, police found “skeletal remains still inside some clothing.” 

Read: Authorities Investigating Scene Where Human Remains Were Discovered

Amy Elliot of the Oklahoma Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirmed this week the remains belong to Hamilton. 

“I’m still in shock. It’s still hard to believe it,” said Keonna Wright, Hamilton’s aunt. 

Jones and Wright said Hamilton had recently aged out of foster care and was living at the Carolyn Williams Center, which is next-door to where his remains were found. 

He was building on a promising life, they said, having recently bought a car with plans to get his own apartment. 

“He was wanting to get his sisters and take care of them,” Jones said. 

The Oklahoma Department of Human Services said Hamilton was employed as a commercial plumbing apprentice from Feb. through Aug., when he was discharged. The agency did not provide a reason for the discharge and said they will work with law enforcement if requested. 

The medical examiner is compiling a full report, which will include the suspected cause and manner of death. 

Police are not currently investigating the death as a homicide.