Cops in America have seized a brute as he buried the butchered, burnt remains of his missing girlfriend in a rural part of Florida State.
Part of the body of missing Nancy Howery Moreira was recovered near the city of Palm Bay on 10th March.
The 44-year-old had lived in the United States for nearly 23 years and was a dual Brazilian-American national.
She had been missing since 15th February.
Police revealed that the prime suspect, identified as Daniel Stearns, was arrested as he tried to hide part of her body on 9th March.
The 32-year-old, who was Nancy’s boyfriend, is charged with second-degree murder with a firearm, mutilation of a dead body, and tampering with evidence.
The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office said that after shooting his victim dead, Stearns dumped her body in an area of woodland.
Days later, he returned to burn it in a bid to destroy evidence.
Then, he dumped her charred remains across several locations.
His arrest came after police monitored him for more than 50 hours.
Nancy was born in Boston, Massachusetts State, USA to an American mother and a Brazilian father.
She moved to her father’s home city – Salvador, Bahia State, Brazil – as a child and lived there until 2000.
She lived in California State, USA, until 2019 when she got divorced and moved to Florida.
Her mother lives in Texas State, USA, while her father died in 2015.
She and Stearns are reported to have met online.
Shortly before her disappearance, they are believed to have argued.
Nancy’s stepmother, Aliana Alves, told media in Brazil: “It is a barbaric crime. We are in shock. She was a victim of femicide and extremely violent death.”
The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement obtained by Newsflash: “Nancy Howery is positively identified as the victim of homicide as suspect Daniel Stearns is held without bond at the Brevard County Jail.
“As part of our continued updates on this Homicide Case, just hours ago our Identification Unit has positively identified Nancy Howery from partial remains that were discovered at the main crime scene in the area commonly referred to as ‘The Compound’ in Palm Bay.
“Our investigation to this point has revealed that the suspect, Daniel Stearns, killed the victim and subsequently left her remains in a wooded area for several days.
“The suspect returned to the scene of the crime and then burned the victim’s body in an effort to destroy any evidence connecting him to the murder.
“After burning the body, the perpetrator took the charred remains of the victim and scattered them in several locations, including burying them in multiple areas of the compound.
“Stearns was arrested yesterday [9th March] by our team after over 50 hours of surveillance conducted by our GAMEOVER Task Force, Fugitive Unit, and Aviation Unit, physically caught Stearns in the act of trying to further hide the remains, as he was attempting to bury various pieces in a wooded area.
“Earlier today [10th March], Judge Kathryn Jacobus ordered Stearns to be held without bond and he is currently detained at the Brevard County Jail on charges of Second Degree Murder With a Firearm, Mutilation of a Dead Body, and Tampering With Evidence.”
