A Texas woman has been accused of helping her friend dispose of a flight attendant’s body after a butt-dial voicemail allegedly captured them plotting the cover-up.
Joni Thomas, 62, has been charged with tampering with evidence in the suspected murder of 47-year-old Rana Nofal Soluri — an Envoy Air flight attendant who was last seen alive in March, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by NBC DFW.
Thomas is believed to have assisted suspected killer Dennis William Day — who allegedly admitted to investigators of strangling Soluri — with the disposal of her body.
Investigators claim Day, 66, called Thomas after murdering Soluri in the kitchen of his Fort Worth home following an argument and had her come over in her pickup truck. The pair then allegedly transported the Soluris’ body to Bowie, about 70 miles away, and dumped her corpse off a bridge.
During the murder investigation, detectives discovered what they believe is a butt dialed voicemail on Thomas’ phone that captures her and Day straining to move a heavy object.
A male voice is heard on the recording saying, “Hey … help me,” “Make sure the lid’s on” and “I’m I got you messed up in this,” according to the affidavit.
Thomas initially denied knowing anything about the murder when questioned by investigators and insisted Day hadn’t driven or used her truck.
However, Thomas allegedly changed her story, telling investigators that Day had used her truck and she was with him, and that he had stopped at the bridge to use the bathroom. She also claimed that she was asleep for a chunk of the drive.
Investigators found that both Day and Thomas left their phones behind at his home before driving to Bowie, a calculated effort to stage a false alibi, according to the warrant.
“This is a clear effort by both [Day] and [Thomas] to deceive law enforcement and make it appear like they never left [Day’s] house in Fort Worth, Texas, when they were dumping [Nofal’s] body in Bowie, TX,” police said in the warrant.
Thomas was arrested on Aug. 26 and transferred to the Tarrant County Jail, but has since been released on bond.
Around the time she is believed to have been killed, Soluri was recovering from minor surgery and had been out of work since late March.
However, in June, her Envoy Air coworkers reported her missing after they became concerned when she failed to show up for work as scheduled and were unable to get in contact with her.
Police quickly zeroed in on Day as a suspect after Soluri’s co-worker told investigators they had been roommates for about a year.
Day told cops that Soluri was a longtime friend and was living with him, but had not seen her for three months, during a welfare check on June 10.
On June 23, police met with Day at his home again, where he denied any involvement in her disappointment and consented to a search of his property.
During the search, investigators obtained video surveillance footage from the night of March 21 showing Day dragging “what appears to be a lifeless body from the home into the backyard.”
Day then allegedly admitted that he and Soluri had fought after she had filmed him acting irate, and when she threatened to call 911, he panicked and strangled her with his bare hands.
Cops say he confessed to stuffing her body into a black trash bin and dumping it off a bridge in Bowie. He also allegedly ditched her cellphone in a nearby river — but led investigators to Soluri’s gun, which has since been found.
Despite searches at multiple Bowie bridges, Soluri’s body has not been recovered. Officials fear flooding may have pushed her remains downstream.
Soluri’s sister, Nez, told NBCDFW that her family has been shattered over the pain of losing her.
“It’s been torture,” Nez said. “Every other day, I keep dreaming or wishing… maybe she bumped her head, had amnesia – something.”
Day is currently being held in the Tarrant County Jail on a $200,000 bond, charged with murder.
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