Cathy Jo George

Background

Cathy Jo George was born 10/20/1958 in Shreveport, Louisiana, to Issac Miles and Onedia Love. She lived at 608 East 85th Street in Shreveport’s Cedar Grove neighborhood with her three children and common-law husband, Floyd Ashley.

She worked for the Shreveport Police Department as a Records Clerk, where she processed public requests for accident reports and other records. Coworkers remembered her as a quiet person who did her job well.

Cathy was interred at Lincoln Memorial Park in Shreveport.

Case Summary

On 12/04/1986, Cathy promised to stop by the following evening during a Freddie Jackson concert to say hello to Shreveport Police Lt. L.L. Williams, who was scheduled to work security at the concert. She’d been looking forward to attending, but she never arrived.

When Cathy failed to report to work on 12/08/1986, Major F.K. Holt, head of the Records Division and Cathy’s supervisor, called her home. Floyd Ashley, her common-law husband, answered and said she was not there. She was then reported missing.

At approximately 1:20 pm on 01/04/1987, a commercial fisherman discovered Cathy’s body floating in the Red River. At approximately 2:52 pm, Sheriff’s Office rescue personnel recovered her body from the river along Fant Parkway, near the east end of Stoner Avenue.

Cathy’s case was initially investigated by the Youth Bureau, which handled missing-person cases, before being turned over to detectives as a potential homicide pending autopsy results. An autopsy performed on 01/05/1987 found she had been struck in the head several times.

Wiley White, who lived next door to Cathy, said Ashley stopped by his house during the week of 12/08/1986 asking whether anyone had seen her. Ashley reportedly told White that he had gone hunting and, when he returned, found a note from Cathy saying she had gone to Minden.

On 01/15/1987, detectives said they had identified a vehicle believed to have been used to transport Cathy’s body to the river and were conducting interviews related to the development.

Suspects/Persons of Interest

Floyd Ashley, Cathy’s common-law husband, was arrested 01/29/1987, and charged with second-degree murder following several weeks of investigation. A Caddo Parish grand jury later returned a true bill charging him with second-degree murder the week of 02/20/1987. Ashley pleaded not guilty.

Investigators presented evidence that Cynthia Wilson, a friend of Ashley’s, had initially provided an account placing herself with Ashley during the early morning hours of 12/07/1986. Wilson later told investigators that Ashley contacted her after reporting Cathy missing and instructed her to say they had remained together until approximately 2:30 a.m. Wilson said Ashley threatened to kill her if she did not support his account. Wilson also alleged that Ashley admitted killing Cathy. In a statement filed with the court, she said Ashley told her “he had killed that bitch” and warned that she would “come up missing just like her” if she told anyone.

Detectives testified that investigators recovered dried human blood and human hair from the trunk of a 1975 Ford Granada Ashley had driven between 12/06/1986-12/08/1986. The available records do not establish that either the blood or hair was identified as Cathy’s.

Ashley was initially held on $100,000 bond. Several requests for bond reduction were denied before the court reduced his bond to $3,000 on 10/19/1987. His case was scheduled for trial multiple times but was continued.

On 03/16/1988, the Caddo Parish District Attorney’s Office filed a dismissal of prosecution. Assistant District Attorney James Stewart later said the murder charge was dropped because one witness could no longer be located and another had recanted her statement to police.

Ashley was never convicted in connection with Cathy’s death. No other suspects or persons of interest have been publicly identified.

Timeline

Limited Information – Can You Help?

If you have additional details, records, photos, or other related materials about Cathy or her case, please consider sharing them.

Research Notes

• Some sources refer to her as Cathy J. George, Kathy George, Kathy J George, Cathy Joe George, CJ George, or Cathy Joe Miles.
• Social Security records list Cathy’s date of death as 01/15/1987, which conflicts with the documented recovery of her body on 01/04/1987.
• A funeral-service listing published in the Shreveport Journal stated that her memorial and interment at Lincoln Cemetery were scheduled for 01/10/1987.
• This profile will be updated as pending public records requests are received.

Sources

• The Times, “Missing woman’s body found here floating in river,” January 5, 1987
• The Times, “Slain clerk ‘quiet,’ co-workers recall,” January 6, 1987
• Shreveport Journal, “Good Samaritan Funeral Home Services,” January 9, 1987
• The Times, “Dead police clerk had head injuries,” January 13, 1987
• The Times, “Jury indicts two; probes continue,” January 15, 1987
• The Times, “Suspect jailed in woman’s death,” January 31, 1987
• The Times, police blotter, February 1, 1987
• Shreveport Journal, “Grand jury returns 7 indictments; 6 are charged with murder,” February 20, 1987
• Shreveport Journal, “Reduction of Ashley bond denied,” March 3, 1987
• The Times, “Statement says suspect admitted murder,” March 3, 1987
• American Press, “Bond stays set in Shreveport murder case,” March 4, 1987
• Caddo Parish Clerk of Court, Clerk Connect, Case No. 137082, Ashley, Floyd, court minutes and case history, 1987–1988
• Shreveport Journal, “Murder charges dropped,” March 25, 1988
• The Times, “DA drops murder charge,” March 25, 1988
• U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936–2007
• U.S. Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936–2007

rev 09/16/26