Her boyfriend has been charged with second-degree murder Authorities said Tuesday that the body of a Florida woman whose boyfriend was accused of her killing earlier this week was discovered near his home.
Deputies received a tip about a body from someone strolling on Carmel Avenue in New Port Richey, 40 miles northwest of Tampa, at 11:30 a.m., according to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office. According to Sheriff Chris Nocco, the lady was recognized as Kathleen Moore, 34, based on her tattoos.
He claimed she was discovered in a wooded location, surrounded by dense undergrowth, in an area that had previously been examined.
“She was definitely covered on purpose to make sure nobody would come upon her,” Nocco said. “Even as detectives will tell you, even when you’re two feet away from her, it’s hard to see that her body was there.”
Investigators had been focusing on 14 industrial-sized dumpsters that needed to be searched before being carted away to a landfill, he said. Nocco stated that investigators had previously discovered blood-stained garments in the bins.
According to Pasco County Sgt. Michael Rosa, the cause of death has yet to be confirmed. Investigators are also trying to figure out when Moore passed away.
She was last seen alive in a bar in Largo on Nov. 28 with her boyfriend, Collin Knapp, 30, and some others, according to Nocco. Moore and Knapp were reportedly arguing before they departed, according to witnesses.
Later that night, Knapp claimed Moore was in the car when he went to a 7-Eleven near his home. Surveillance video, however, did not provide a clear view inside Knapp’s vehicle, according to Nocco.
Moore allegedly went home with Knapp before departing on foot with her backpack the next morning, according to Knapp. Moore’s location at the time, and subsequently, were unknown, according to Nocco.
In connection with the case, Knapp has been charged with second-degree homicide.
According to Nocco, Knapp has been arrested for ten felonies and nine misdemeanors since 2004, including aggravated assault, aggravated battery, and domestic abuse. Moore has nothing to do with the earlier incidents.
Moore’s body was discovered near Knapp’s home by a team of retired law enforcement officials who act as private investigators after retracing Moore’s version of events from the night he was last seen alive.
“In my honest opinion, I believe he put the body thereafter they [investigators] searched [the area],” Billy Lane, one of the private investigators, told Fox News. “I think he took the body after they left, thinking ‘They’ll never come back.'”
As per Foxnews, the state of Moore’s body also raised questions for Lane.
“There should have been more decomposition, a smell of decomposition and there have been more flies there than what there were, which makes me think he preserved the body somehow,” he added.
Officials claim that Knapp has refused to cooperate with investigators. Nocco had a message for the alleged killer before ending the news conference.
“There’s a God who knows everything and he cannot take back what he did in this case but what he can do is make something positive going forward,” he said. “Answer the ‘why’ because we have the evidence. We have Kathleen now.”
