The Great Smoky Mountain Journal

Staff, Wire Reports

Posted: Sunday, January 21, 2018 03:54 PM

Retired California Teacher Fatally Stabbed To Death In Jamaica

A retired teacher from California was fatally stabbed to death while in Jamaica, police said.

A jogger found Heidi Ann Muth's body on a dirt path on Sept. 10, authorities said. Her body had suffered stab wounds to the head and upper body, authorities said. She was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Muth, 68, a retired teacher with two sons and a daughter, taught history to fourth graders in Southern California for 37 years.

No arrests were made, The Orange County Register reported.

A woman who described herself as a close friend to the victim told the paper that she may have been in debt to someone living in Jamaica.

“Everyone said she was throwing good money after bad money," Sarah Schiermeyer said. "But Heidi would get a bee in her bonnet and was very stubborn about stuff. It's absolutely horrid what happened to her.”

Friends have described Muth as kind-hearted, adding that she also volunteered as a basketball coach at Catholic schools and helped the homeless.

“She was a very generous person. She went out of her way to help people.” Schiermeyer told the Register.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.