Arrest In Murder of Prominent Cancer Researcher

Lieutenant Keith Meadows says homicide detectives filed murder warrants late Wednesday for the arrest of Jamal Thompson who also goes by the name "Shamel". Thompson was arrested early Thursday morning. Thompson is charged with murder in the death of Dr. Eugenia Calle.

Calle was found dead in her Midtown condo by her fiance at around 11 p.m. Tuesday night. She died from blunt force trauma to the back of her head according to Lt. Meadows, the Commander of Atlanta's Homicide Squad. He said there appeared to bed a struggle inside the condo, a 20th floor penthouse in the Aqua building on 10th Street near West Peachtree Street.

Calle had apparently been dead for about 12 to 16 hours when her body was found Tuesday night, according to Lt. Meadows.

Lt. Meadows told 11 Alive News early this morning that the suspect Thompson posed as a potential buyer of Dr. Calle's condo which was up for sale. He says Thompson was swiped in by someone at the building and went up to Dr. Calle's penthouse. Lt. Meadows says the motive in the killing appears to be robbery. He says items were taken from Dr. Calle. He says Thompson used Dr. Calle's credit card in Southwest Atlanta, which helped detectives find him.

Lt. Meadows says Thompson became a suspect early in the investigation after detectives examined security video at the building and visitor records at the buildings realty office.

Dr. Calle retired last month from the Atlanta-based American Cancer Society, where she was managing director of analytic epidemiology.

She was also an adjunct professor of epidemiology at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health.

Dr. Calle's body was discovered by her boyfriend, a prominent Atlanta attorney whose name was not released.

Police say that would mean she died between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. Tuesday.

The victim was fully-clothed when found, but police said an autopsy would be necessary to determine whether she had been sexually assaulted.

There were no signs of forced entry into the unit.

Detectives said Calle and her boyfriend were engaged, and "she was actually in the process of selling her condominium and she was moving in with him."

The victim's boyfriend had reportedly been cooperative and "helpful in the investigation."