A missing Florida woman was found dead in metro Atlanta, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said Friday.
Authorities had been looking for 74-year-old Janice Walker Fulton and a 2009 blue Kia Optima since Thursday.
Fulton’s body was found inside Phillip Jason Smith’s car in Henry County, police said. Neighbors told Channel 2 Action News that Smith, 37, was Fulton’s nephew.
Smith was released from prison less than a year ago.
He is in police custody in Henry County, officials said.
Locust Grove police Investigator Darryl Shoemaker said Jacksonville authorities used a cellphone to locate the car. It is unclear whether the cellphone belonged to the victim or the suspect.
When Florida officials identified the car’s location, they notified Locust Grove police that the vehicle was at a gas station on Bill Gardner Parkway, Shoemaker said.
Officers went to the gas station and saw Smith allegedly leaving the lot in the Optima.
"He was stopped based on the lookout given," Shoemaker said.
During the officers’ investigation, they determined Smith had marijuana in his possession and arrested him, Shoemaker said.
The Florida Times-Union reported that Fulton’s body was found hidden under a tarp in the back seat, according to the incident report. The report also said officers found an open bottle of rum inside the car and a knife inside a backpack in the front seat.
Jacksonville officers arrived in Henry County on Thursday night and worked the crime scene overnight with local investigators.
Smith is expected to be extradited to Florida, Shoemaker said. According to jail records, he is being held on the possession of marijuana charge.
“The case is being worked as a murder,” the Jacksonville sheriff’s office said. “We believe the actual murder occurred in Jacksonville.”
Smith, who was released from prison in May, was convicted in 2012 of burglary and exploitation of the elderly, according to Florida Department of Corrections records. The Times-Union reported that he stole a credit card from an 89-year-old man for whom he worked as a caretaker.
Police are not sure why Smith was in Henry County, other than he stopped for gas as he was heading north, Channel 2 reported.
“We have no idea at this point,” Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams told the Times-Union.
Anyone who saw Fulton, Smith or the car is asked to contact the sheriff’s office at 904-630-0500 or JSOCrimeTips@jaxsheriff.org. Also, you can leave anonymous tips at Crime Stoppers by calling 866-845-8477. A reward of up to $3,000 is available.
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