LOCKING up as she left the local supermarket where she worked, grandmother Toni Abad was excited to get home, and looking forward to spending time off with her family.
Tragically, the 58-year-old would never make it home because lurking in the shadows of the car park was one of her soon-to-be killers, petite teen De’Asia Page.
Toni Abad was a loving mother and the ‘perfect grandmother’ to her five grandkids[/caption]
Her only ‘mistake’ that harrowing winter night was to kindly offer a lift home to the shivering, vulnerable looking 18-year-old.
As a parent, her caring nature kicked in – but she could never have predicted this would lead to her being bludgeoned to death by De’Asia’s deranged boyfriend Jared Kemp, 18…
‘The perfect grandmother’
It remains a mystery as to why anyone would want to hurt a woman who was a pillar of her local community, and incredibly popular.
A divorced mother of four with five grandchildren, Toni always valued her family above above all else and they were top priority.
Speaking on Hayu documentary Snapped: Killer Couples, Toni’s son Mike Chamblee says: “People were just drawn to her – her personality. You could just tell they all really cared a lot about her and the feeling was mutual.
“She was just an amazing mother. We would always get together on Christmas eve, and have a huge dinner – mum looked forward to that so much.”
Michaela Chamblee, Toni’s granddaughter, adds: “She was the perfect grandmother, just amazing.”
Lured into the path of her killers
She was also greatly admired by her co-workers, and she enjoyed her job as deli manager at the supermarket in the small town of Fairburn, Georgia.
Sadly, it was after finishing her shift there at around 11.30pm on the cold winter’s night of December 21, 2017, she was tragically lured into the path of her killers.
That night, as one of Toni’s co-workers would later tell police, Toni was approached by stranger De’Asia Page, who’d been pacing around outside the store.
Cara Convery, Fulton County District Attorney, says: “This female approached them wearing a black jacket that had a fur hood on it. She asked Toni to give her a ride home.
“Looking at this young woman who was very thin, really small build – [Toni] wasn’t willing to leave her there alone.
“[Toni’s co-worker] remembers being distinctly concerned that Ms Abad would say yes, because of the kind of person she was.”
Atlanta Police Detective Kevin Leonpacher says: “It’s four days before Christmas, it’s cold outside – this is the South Atlanta winter, and you have a young lady asking for help getting a ride.
“I’m sure when Toni walked out of her job that night she really just saw the face of one of her children when they were 18 and they needed help.”
Toni and her co-worker then went their separate ways – and that was the last time Toni was seen alive.
Toni took pity on De’Asia Page, who had been hanging around the supermarket car park and asked her for a lift home[/caption]
‘She was begging & pleading for her life’
On the drive, unsuspecting Toni followed De’Asia’s directions ‘home’ to a quiet road – which is where De’Asia’s boyfriend, 18-year-old Jared Kemp was lying in wait.
However, before they came to a stop, Toni caught a glimpse of a gun on De’Asia’s lap – and quickly realised her life was in danger.
Explaining what happened next, Attorney Cara Convery explains: “Ms Abad makes a move for her life essentially, and reaches out and there is a very brief struggle for the gun.”
Detective Leadpacher says: “While this is going on, Jared has emerged…and has smashed the driver’s glass window.
“So while he beats the glass, the victim crawls out of the passenger seat and ends up outside the car.
“She was begging and pleading for her life. She talked about Christmas being just a few days away and the fact she had a young granddaughter and the fact she just wanted to make it to Christmas to see her.”
However, Toni’s killers showed her no mercy.
South Fulton County Police Detective Nikkita Moss says: “Jared Kemp came up to the victim and started striking her several times with the baseball bat until she fell to the ground.”
The pair threw Toni’s body in the boot of her car before Kemp fled on foot, while De’Asia wiped down the car and dumped it.
The killers callously dumped Toni’s body in the boot of her own car and police officers made the horrifying discovery[/caption]
Severely beaten to death
The next day local police received a call about a suspicious vehicle with a shattered window parked behind a waffle restaurant five miles from the murder scene.
Upon inspecting the car, the officer at the scene found Toni’s body – still wearing her work uniform with her name badge on the front – in the boot.
“There was so much evidence of suffering, so much evidence of fear.”
Attorney Cara Convery
Detective Leonpacher says: “She had significant injuries to her head and her face so she was severely beaten to death.”
Detective Moss says: “The medical examiner was able to determine she was killed by blunt force trauma to the head.”
However police were baffled as they tried to work out the motive, as while Toni’s mobile phone was missing, her keys and wallet had been left in the car, and her credit cards and ID were still in her wallet.
Whatever the reason, the scene was harrowing.
Attorney Convery says: “There was so much evidence of suffering, so much evidence of fear.”
Blood spatters & broken glass
Police spoke to Toni’s colleague who had seen her last, and were quickly able to locate Toni’s missing phone where the murder took place.
With the investigation gathering pace, Police took a still from the supermarket CCTV footage and began asking people in the area if they recognised De’Asia.
They made a breakthrough in a nearby restaurant.
Cara says: “One of the detectives just casually asks ‘hey, have you seen anybody meeting this description?’ did you see anything last night? Young girl, puffy jacket?’ and they said ‘oh yeah she’s here all the time.’”
Police identified her, and learned she was a recent high school dropout, who had recently been left homeless after a fight with her mother.
Detective Kevin Leonpacher says: “De’Asia, like a lot of 18 year old girls, wanted to be independent, and that led to a lot of altercations at home… Things got tumultuous with her mother and she eventually left the house.”
Teenage rebellion hadn’t always been a problem – until months before when she’d grown close to Jared Kemp, causing her, according to friends to “withdraw from everybody.”
Former reporter Jaquitta WIlliams says: “Jared came from a good family. He was charming, he was handsome, popular by all accounts.
“[But] at some point in high school Jared began hanging out with a rougher crew, getting into a lot of trouble.”
Toni left behind four children, and had been looking forward to spending the holidays with her family[/caption]
Heartbroken… and angry
With her image and name circulating within the media, De’Asia quickly turned herself in to police.
She admitted she had accepted a ride from Toni Abad, but initially claimed they were blindsided by two men who attacked them.
However police quickly dismissed her version of events, before receiving a call from nearby Chattahoochee Hills police who revealed Jared was there too, to also proactively speak to detectives.
Former reporter Jaquitta WIlliams says: “Jared claimed he wasn’t dating De’Asia anymore, in fact it was a very brief fling, he really didn’t know her that well, but he wanted to come forward to investigators because he didn’t want his name tied to a murder.”
Upon learning of Jared’s denial, De’Asia suddenly changed her story.
Former reporter Jaquitta WIlliams says: “De’Asia was clearly heartbroken that Jared was denying their relationship and she got angry.
“She immediately changed her story to police and told them Jared was responsible for the whole thing and Jared was the one who killed Toni Abad.”
Jared Kemp claimed he barely knew De’Asia, and spoke to police to distance himself from the events of December 21[/caption]
‘They intended to kill her’
With nowhere to sleep, De’Asia revealed they had come up with a plan to steal someone’s car for the night so she could have somewhere to rest – and says it was never supposed to end in murder.
While she distanced herself from the actual physical attack, Detective Leadpacher says: “We do believe that De’Asia actively participated in the violence that night, and certainly helped load Toni Abad’s body into the trunk of her own car.
“Even if they intended to just carjack Ms Abad, the fact they so egregiously and so aggressively bludgeoned her – that speaks to a level of violence that leaves only one conclusion – the moment they arrived on that road they intended to kill her.”
5 must-watch Hayu true crime shows
- Deadly Cults – In this series, investigators uncover and expose the dark world of cults that kill. Each episode focuses on a different cult, looking at the behaviour of their leaders and followers.
- Snapped: Killer Couples – Each episode reveals the shocking story of a couple who have committed murder together. A spin-off of series Snapped, which chronicled lives of women who lost control and were charged with murder, the show has aired 17 seasons, each with ten episodes.
- In Ice Cold Blood – Hosted by Ice-T, this series exposed outrageous tales and shocking true stories involving sex, money, murder and sometimes a fatal cocktail of all three.
- Charmed To Death – A series following the true stories of manipulative and deceptively dangerous criminals who use their charm to cheat, steal and lure unsuspecting victims into romantic relationships, ultimately leaving a wake of devastation and death.
- The Girl In The Box – Colleen Stan relives what it was like to be kidnapped, imprisoned in a box, and how she bravely escaped. The 20-year-old’s ordeal all started when she accepted a ride from Cameron Hooker, and she was kept captive for nearly a year…
‘Driven by a motivation to kill’
De’Asia was then officially charged with murder, and the following day an arrest warrant was issued for Jared, before he was taken into custody on Christmas eve.
They seized his phone and discovered a flurry of calls to De’Asia on the day of the murder lasting hours – meaning they were a lot closer than he tried to let on.
Page was offered a plea deal in exchange for giving evidence against her former lover, and sentenced to 30 years.
In October 2019, Kemp was convicted of murder, felony murder, armed robbery, and aggravated assault and sentenced to life in prison.
Detective Leadbacher adds: “I believe De’Asia was an immature, impressionable young lady that was homeless and desperate and she was doing partly what she wanted to do and partly what others had convinced her to do.
“I believe Jared… was driven by a motivation to kill.”
All episodes of Snapped: Killer Couples are available to stream on Hayu.
Page was given 30 years for her role in the murder, while Kemp was convicted and sentenced to life in prison[/caption]
