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Authorities outside 136 Walton St. in Armory Square Friday while investigating the death of Thea St. Omer, a local artist and filmmaker.

(Jacob Pucci | jpucci@syracuse.com)

By Jacob Pucci, Jolene Almendarez and Ken Sturtz

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - A local artist and filmmaker, who opened several boutiques and worked a myriad of jobs, was found dead Friday morning inside her business in Armory Square.

Police are investigating the circumstances of 41-year-old Thea St. Omer's death, but have labeled it suspicious. Final autopsy results from the Onondaga County Medical Examiner's Office were not available Saturday.

A Syracuse Police Department spokesman declined to discuss the specifics of the investigation.

On March 21, St. Omer closed her small upstairs boutique at 136 Walton St. and opened a tea and coffee cafe in the space. Police said she was living there. Earlier that day her friend Pam Dahlin-Probst stopped over to help polish the floor and clean up in advance of the opening.

That night St. Omer, known to friends as "T", showed her painting exhibit. Dahlin-Probst said it was the last time she saw her.

Thea St. Omer

Dahlin-Probst sent St. Omer a text message a few days later. She hadn't heard from her friend and grew increasingly worried when she received no response to several text messages during the week.

"Are you OK?" she wrote. "You're MIA. Are you OK?"

Dahlin-Probst watched Friday as police investigated at 136 Walton St. where St. Omer was found. The women met in March 2013 when St. Omer moved into the space next to Dahlin-Probst's beauty salon. They quickly formed a "very important friendship," she said.

"If every human being could be as loving and compassionate as she was, the world would be a better place."

Friends described St. Omer as a Renaissance woman. She worked in oil and acrylic paints, wrote poems and letters to the editor. She sold her handmade jewelry during the summer on the sidewalk outside her store.



But it was her passion for film that burned brightest, friends said.

Originally from Santa Barbara, California, St. Omer lived in New York City where she received a grant from the Jerome Foundation to produce "Lovers", a documentary with no spoken dialogue that explores gender roles and the diverse range of couples found in the city.

She later moved to Syracuse and taught as an adjunct in the film department at Syracuse University, Nancy Keefe Rhodes said. Rhodes became friends with St. Omer a decade ago and would see her sporadically when St. Omer wanted her to see a rough cut of a film.

"Every once in a while she would pop up," Rhodes said. "She would show me what she was working on. She tried really hard to make these movies."

St. Omer created documentaries, often with the help of donations, on subjects ranging from body image to racial issues. She also created a fiction film about a transgender woman who is murdered. In 2012, she presented a controversial documentary in which she probed the history, usage and legacy of the N-word.

"It really was quite a remarkable film," Rhodes said.

When she wasn't focusing on art and filmmaking, St. Omer worked a series of jobs to support herself. Besides teaching for a few years at SU, Rhodes said, she worked in the kitchen at the university. More recently St. Omer worked at Walmart.

"Anything she could get to try to keep making these films," Rhodes said. "She was extremely talented."

"She was sure if she just kept at it something would break."

St. Omer also opened several shops, including a store at the Marshall Square Mall near SU. That store eventually closed and she opened up a shop at the Walton Street building.

Joy Mutare met St. Omer in her shop at the Marshall Square Mall about eight years ago. They struck up a conversation and St. Omer insisted Mutare take a bag and picture with her as a gift. Mutare said St. Omer, whom she called a "gentle giant" at 5-feet-10 inches tall, often gave people gifts and took time to talk with them about things happening in their lives.

"She was just so peaceful and so calm," Mutare said.

She learned about her death from her friend Morgan Striggles, chief of staff for Syracuse Common Council President Van B. Robinson.

A memorial to Thea St. Omer outside her business at 136 Walton St. St. Omer was found dead inside her business on Friday.

Striggles said he met St. Omer about eight years ago at SU. He credits her with inspiring him to pursue modeling and acting. He said St. Omer was dedicated to telling the story of women and people of color in the community.

People remembered St. Omer's wide smile, selflessness and strong-willed nature.

"She was just a beautiful person to know," said Simon Stearns, who met St. Omer four years ago and helped her with video editing.

Passionate about her beliefs, St. Omer was never afraid to speak her mind or defend her opinions, Stearns said. But she refrained from speaking negatively about others, he said.

"She would very respectfully tell you what she thought. She was fearless."

Friends said that wherever she went it seemed St. Omer took her huge wolf a dog with her. They walked the city together and across campus at SU. Police said her dog died at some point, though it's not clear when.

Yvonne Essi, whose family owns Mom's Diner on Westcott Street, remembers St. Omer as a regular who for years brought her dog and sat outside.

"We'd bring breakfast outside for her and the dog," Essi said.

Essi last saw St. Omer a few weeks ago at Price Chopper.

"She was her usual smiling self," she said. "She was always smiling. Nothing got her down."