Missing 16-Year-Old Girl Found Dead In Spring Hill Woods; Boyfriend Arrested: Reports

SPRING HILL, FL — A 19-year-old man has been arrested in the fatal shooting of his 16-year-old girlfriend, who was reported missing before her body was discovered in a wooded area in Spring Hill, reports said.

Robert Timmons was arrested Monday in connection with the death of Victoria Perez, whose body was found Sunday morning near Crela Drive, and charged with murder, the Pasco Sheriff’s Office said.

Deputies responded to reports of a body in the area around 11:30 a.m.

Investigators identified the girl as Perez, who had been reported missing to the sheriff’s office earlier that morning, authorities said.

Detectives determined that Perez entered a vehicle driven by Timmons around 1:15 a.m. that morning. During an argument Timmons allegedly shot the girl while she was inside the vehicle, the sheriff’s office said.

After the shooting, Timmons drove to a nearby location and left Perez's body in the wooded area, investigators said. He later disposed of the firearm in a nearby body of water.

Investigators learned that Timmons was in a relationship with Perez, which concerned her family.

Family members described the relationship as "tumultuous" and "toxic," Pasco Sheriff Jeff Harrington said, according to Tampa Bay 28.

Perez's parents were so concerned that they’d been trying to help their daughter distance herself from the relationship, Fox 13 reported.

Her family, who reported her missing around 7 a.m. on Sunday, identified Timmons as someone detectives should speak with during the investigation, the Tampa Bay Times said.

Investigators reviewed surveillance video showing Perez getting into a vehicle associated with Timmons at her apartment complex around 1:15 a.m. Sunday, the sheriff’s office said.

He initially told investigators he didn’t know much about Perez's whereabouts, but later acknowledged picking her up and told detectives that the two argued in the vehicle before he shot her, reports said.

He was booked into the Pasco County Jail on a charge of first-degree premeditated murder and was being held without bond.

The Sheriff's Office Dive and Underwater Recovery Team, along with deputies, continue to search a nearby body of water for the firearm investigators believe was used in the shooting.

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