Police say that Marquis Devan McCloud murdered Anastasia Gilley, pictured here. (Image: Jackson County Sheriff’s Office)
Deputies in two states fear that recently discovered remains belong to a missing pregnant woman, and they say they arrested the suspect in her killing.
During the disappearance, family members remembered Anastasia Gilley, 19, as a gregarious “spitfire,” but that high-spirited life has apparently ended.
Marquis Devan McCloud is charged in Alabama with capital murder during kidnapping in the first degree in her death, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office in Florida said on Wednesday.
Deputies previously said Gilley, who was four months pregnant, was last seen at home on May 3.
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Citing interviews and other evidence, law enforcement searched locations in both counties. Authorities suggest that a body discovered early Wednesday near Headland, Alabama, is Gilley, but the autopsy must confirm that formally.
“This is a large, multi-state investigation and is ongoing, but a suspect is in custody and is not a threat to the public,” deputies said. They said McCloud, an Alabama resident, was uncooperative throughout the investigation.
Investigators did not immediately suggest a motive. The family made clear Gilley’s disappearance was out of character.
“We don’t know what’s going on, but she didn’t run away,” her stepfather James Delaney said during the missing person case, according to WCTV.
“She’s 4-foot-11 and acts 10 feet tall and bulletproof, but this is a big world for her,” her former legal guardian Mary Taylor reportedly said. “This is a big world, and we want Anastasia home safe. We have another grandbaby on the way, and we want them home safe.”
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The last time Gilley communicated with someone was a text to her best friend from Kentucky, said Taylor. But then she went “radio silent,” missing a doctor’s appointment and several shifts at Jim’s Buffet and Grill.
“We want her to come home safe,” her aunt Shana Sheawa said during the missing person case, according to WJHG.
The family said they usually talked to her often, even multiple times daily.
“She’s a spitfire,” Sheawa said. “She’s a social butterfly, all around a good girl.”
“She’s my baby,” her grandmother, Sandra Steele, said.
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