Police: Former Brevard deputy charged with murder in death of 72-year-old Titusville woman
A former Brevard County sheriff's corrections officer was charged Monday with first-degree murder in the death of Titusville resident Jessie Kirk, 72, who was reported missing the morning of March 4.
Titusville police said David Armstrong Barber, 35, also faces charges of arson, burglary of an occupied structure, abuse of a dead body, theft and tampering with evidence. He was already a person of interest in the disappearance of Kirk, a well-known real estate business owner and community advocate whose burned-out SUV and body were discovered the afternoon of her disappearance.
'This collaborative effort has been instrumental in securing the charges and moving one step closer to justice and closure for Jessie Kirk's family and friends,' said Detective Sergeant Bryan Nelson of the Titusville Police Department, in a statement released late Monday.
Kirk was reported missing by a friend after she failed to turn up for a routine morning walk.
Barber, spotted near Kirk's condominium the same morning with burn marks on his arm, was arrested on charges of grand theft of a motor vehicle, loitering and prowling after family members and friends of Kirk told Titusville police he was driving Kirk's white Lincoln Navigator without permission.
The burned-out Navigator was found near Christmas the same day, and Kirk's body, burned beyond recognition, was located near the Haulover Canal in north Brevard. Barber was arrested later that day for loitering, prowling and grand theft auto.
The medical examiner's office conducted an autopsy over two days and identified the remains as those of Kirk.
Nelson and other detectives spanned the city, talked with family members and friends, gathering information that pointed back to Barber, who was the former boyfriend of Kirk's niece.
He avoided questions upon his initial arrest, police said, adding that he said, 'I don't feel I should answer that at this time,' reports show.
A candlelight vigil organized by Jess Parrish Medical Foundation and the Friends of the Children's Advocacy Center will be held at 7 p.m. Friday at Sand Point Park, 419 Washington Ave., in Titusville. The vigil is open to the public.
Barber, who has been jailed since his initial arrest, is expected to go before a judge Tuesday for a bond hearing on the charges. No other court dates have been set in the case.
J.D. Gallop is a criminal justice/breaking news reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or jgallop@floridatoday.com. X, formerly known as Twitter:@JDGallop.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Former Brevard deputy charged with murder of Titusville woman, 72
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