WEST PALM BEACH — Police in West Palm Beach have arrested a 56-year-old man on a murder charge in connection to the disappearance of a woman who was reported missing in July.
Todd Arthur Reichert is facing a first-degree murder charge after DNA analysis of blood found in his vehicle was confirmed to be a match to Laura Lee Willsey, also 56, according to a statement police released Friday.
Willsey’s daughter reported her missing on July 30 after she failed to return to a home where she had been renting a room along the 5200 block of Garden Avenue, half a mile east of Dreher Park. Her disappearance touched off a monthslong missing-persons investigation and public appeals from her family for information on her whereabouts.
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Laura Willsey was reported missing in July after she failed to return to her home in West Palm Beach. A man has been arrested in connection to her disappearance and faces a murder charge.
Police have not found her remains, and the last information regarding Willsey’s location came from a witness shortly after she disappeared, a department spokesperson said Friday.
During a search of Willsey’s residence, West Palm Beach detectives discovered blood spatter and droplets both inside and outside the home.
Video camera recorded woman arguing with man in custody day before disappearance
According to statement released Friday, detectives reviewed surveillance-camera video footage recorded the day before Willsey was reported missing. They saw and heard evidence of an argument between Willsey, Reichert and another man.
A witness came forward and told detectives that Reichert could be heard hitting Willsey in her bedroom. The witness also described hearing the sound of crumpling trash bags in the bedroom and the living room.
Reichert reportedly uttered that he was driving to Belle Glade and leaving his cellphone behind to avoid being tracked. He then left in his 2010 Volkswagen and returned two and one-half hours later.
Reichert has been in custody since August on unrelated burglary and grand theft charges. He is scheduled to appear before a judge on the murder charge Saturday morning.
Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on Twitter at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Man facing murder charge after woman disappeared from West Palm in July
