The husband of a Florida woman found dead after she was reported missing in January has been charged with her murder.
Brian Estep was arrested in West Virginia, where he moved after he was interviewed by police and Amber Renee Estep was found dead, Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said.
Amber Estep’s mother reported her missing on January 19 after she missed several days of work, as CrimeOnline reported. Brevard County deputies spoke with her husband, Brian Estep, that day, and he told them they got into an argument as they returned from a medical appointment on Merritt Island on January 16, and he let her out of the truck when she asked to get out somewhere along Interstate 95.
Hours later, Brian Estep’s truck pickup truck was found on fire in Port Saint John.
Ivey said deputies searched an area of the woods known as the “black hole,” where they found blood that matched the missing woman.
“Further information demonstrated that Estep moved Amber’s body from the ‘Black Hole’ under the cover of darkness and then drove her around northern Brevard and southern Volusia counties, until he later discarded her remains where she was ultimately discovered off of State Route 46 in Mims,” Ivey said.
Ivey said Amber Estep was shot multiple times and had severe head trauma.
Since the discovery of his wife’s body and the police interview, Estep moved the West Virginia, where he was arrested.
“Despite Brian Estep’s fabricated alibi, his attempts to destroy crucial evidence and just the disgusting evil in his heart, our BCSO agents and crime scene investigators were able to directly connect him to Amber’s murder so that justice can be served and her family can hopefully have closure in her death,” he said.
Estep has been charged with first-degree murder with a firearm and tampering with evidence and is being held without bond in West Virginia, pending his extradition back to Florida.
He is being held without bond in West Virginia until he is extradited back to Brevard County.
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[Featured image: Amber Estep and Brian Estep/Brevard County Sheriff’s Office]
