The body of Alexandria Chery, a 16-year-old girl who has been missing from her Florida home since July 28, was found in a wooded area on Aug. 2, the New York Daily News reported.
A maintenance crew discovered the body near Osceola-Polk Line Road, located less than a mile from the home Alexandria shared with her mother, Rosalie Joseph, and Joseph's long-term boyfriend, 43-year-old Sanel Saint Simon. An autopsy was conducted, and the family was notified on Aug. 2 that the decomposing body indeed belonged to Alexandria.
Saint Simon was arrested on July 30 in connection with Alexandria's disappearance, and has since been named the prime suspect. He currently faces two charges of providing false information to police and attempting to destroy evidence.
On the morning of Alexandria's disappearance, Saint Simon arrived at work at Boston Market at 4621 S. Kirkman Road at 7 a.m., but left his job without clocking out at 9:30 a.m., reported The Orlando Sentinel. Joseph last saw her daughter in their Hawthorne Groves apartment before she left for work at 8 a.m. Alexandria was planning to stay home and rest because she wasn't feeling well.
When Joseph returned home at 6 p.m., her daughter was nowhere to be found. She noticed that Alexandria's bedroom was missing many of her personal belongings. The bed sheets and pillows were gone, and a large stuffed bear had what appeared to be a blood stain on it, prompting Joseph to call the police and report her daughter as missing.
Authorities said Saint Simon appeared to have tried to clean up the blood with bleach, and hasn't been cooperating with investigators since he has been in their custody. At the moment, he is being held without bond on the two charges.
About 60 people attended a fundraiser on Aug. 3, where guests were asked to pitch in $3 each to buy T-shirts to help Alexandria's family pay for a funeral, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Friends and family said the slain teen aspired to one day be a nurse.
Officers are asking anyone that may have seen a black Pontiac being driven on County Road 532 between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on July 28 to come forward with information. Authorities believe Saint Simon may have been driving the vehicle.
