LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – A man accused of killing his girlfriend, stuffing her body in a bag and leaving her remains in a remote area of Lake County has been arrested on a first-degree murder charge, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Records show wildlife surveyors found 29-year-old Veronica Sacco’s body on April 26 in the area of Five Mile Road and Schofield Road in Lake County, not far from a dirt road. Agents said her body was placed inside a bag and that a children’s toy vehicle was placed over it in an attempt to conceal it.
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The body wasn’t initially identified at the scene due to the advanced state of decomposition but the next day, an Orange County deputy advised that characteristics from the body matched those of Sacco, who’d gone missing from the Orlando area on April 12, according to the report.
Authorities said an autopsy was conducted and it was determined that the woman was shot five times in the chest and she suffered a fracture to her left arm that was believed to have been a defensive wound.
A forensic odontologist was able to confirm the body was Sacco using dental records.
The victim’s parents were quick to tell deputies that Sacco was very proud of her appearance and wouldn’t have left the house in the Cookie Monster pajama pants and gray graphic T-shirt she was wearing when her body was found, which caused further suspicious and led agents to believe Sacco was attacked while in her home.
Sacco’s father said the last time he saw his daughter alive was through a video chat call around 11:30 p.m. April 12 and at that time, she was with her live-in boyfriend, 21-year-old Denzelle Jordan Turner, according to the warrant.
Agents said Sacco and Turner had a “volatile” and “violent” relationship and that Turner had threatened to shoot Sacco in the head during an argument on Feb. 15.
Sacco’s family also examined her social media accounts and noticed that pictures of Sacco and Turner together had been removed from her pages.
Records show FDLE identified Turner as a suspect and as they investigated the case, they realized that Turner’s Toyota Camry was captured on toll cameras driving toward the area where Sacco’s body was found around 5:20 a.m. on April 13. He was the only person in the vehicle but a large cloth bag could be seen in the backseat on the same spot where a blood stain was later found, according to the report.
Cellphone records also placed Turner in the area at that time, the warrant said.
Agents went to South Ridge Apartments, where Sacco had last been seen alive, on May 12 to execute a search warrant and they said they found four projectiles, one bullet fragment that were from the same firearm used in Sacco’s death and blood-like stains on the bedroom door and wall.
Turner is accused of fleeing to Georgia while the investigation was underway, which is where he was arrested on May 13.
He has since been booked into the Lake County jail on a first-degree murder charge.