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Family pleads for answers after deadly shooting
FOX 35 spoke with the victim's grieving family who is pleading with the public for answers after their loved one was found shot dead near the Florida Mall.
ORLANDO, Fla. - Authorities have made an arrest in the deadly shooting of a 49-year-old woman in Orange County, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office. The arrest comes six months after Monique Jade Brooks was found with multiple gunshot wounds. She was later transported to the hospital, where she died, officials said.
What we know:
On Monday, the Orange County Sheriff's Office announced the arrest of 38-year-old Jeremy Jamal Smith. He was already being held in Orange County on unrelated drug charges, but was subsequently charged with first degree murder in the shooting death of Brooks.
He is being held in jail on a $7,500 bond related to the drug charges case.
![](https://images.foxtv.com/static.fox35orlando.com/www.fox35orlando.com/content/uploads/2025/01/932/470/jeremy-jamal-smith-mug.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Jeremy Jamal Smith has been charged with first degree murder in the July 2024 shooting death of Monique Jade Brooks.
According to online court documents, Smith declined to discuss the charges or the investigation with Orange County detectives.
The backstory:
On July 19, 2024, around 3:50 a.m., Orange County deputies responded to the parking lot of the Burlington Coat Factory on South Orange Blossom Trail and found Brooks on the ground next to her 2003 Jeep Liberty. She was taken to the hospital, where she was declared dead.
Detectives found four bullet casings and one bullet. Surveillance video from nearby businesses would later capture a total of five gunshots, court records state.
Officials said, according to court documents, that surveillance video showed Brooks in the front seat of her vehicle around 2:45 a.m., and a second person in the passenger seat.
A male emerges from a wooded area, talks to another male in the parking lot, then approaches the driver's side of the Jeep where Brooks was seated and begins shooting. Shortly after, the person in the passenger seat gets out of the vehicle and walks away from the vehicle. The suspected shooter then walks in the opposite direction.
Possible hate crime?
According to family FOX 35 previously spoke with and court paperwork, Brooks identified as a transgender woman.
FOX 35 asked if the case was being investigated as a possible hate crime related to Brooks' gender identity.
"The investigation in this case continues, but for now there is no hate crime enhancement," a spokesperson for OCSO told FOX 35 in an email.
‘Fun Loving’ and ‘brilliant’
What they're saying:
In July 2024, FOX 35 spoke with Lecia Paul, who said she was Brooks' sister.
At the time, she said there was little information on the shooting and what happened to Brooks,
"If anybody anywhere hears anything, sees anything, even just that inkling of anything, please reach out to law enforcement," she told FOX 35 at the time. "Please, please. This didn't have to happen."
She remembered Brooks as "fun loving," "brilliant" and someone who was unafraid and lived their live "out loud."
This browser does not support the Video element.
Family pleads for answers after deadly shooting
FOX 35 spoke with the victim's grieving family who is pleading with the public for answers after their loved one was found shot dead near the Florida Mall.
"(She) did not deserve this. (She) did not," said Paul. "If anybody knows anything or has seen anything or hears anything you can be anonymous. We just want to know. We want justice for (her)."
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The Source: The information in this article comes from an investigative update from the Orange County Sheriff's Office, court records, and previous reporting by FOX 35.