SEBASTIAN, Fla. – A man confessed to killing his fiancée after a 67-year-old woman was found dead Tuesday in a pickup truck at a Walmart in Sebastian, just south of Brevard County, according to police.
Sebastian police responded to the incident around 7:45 a.m. at 2001 U.S. Highway 1.
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Shoppers who saw the woman inside the truck called 911, and Sebastian police said officers found the body of Jeanine Bishop.
Detectives later questioned Michael Despres, 56, about her whereabouts, and police said he confessed to killing Bishop at their home and later taking her body to Walmart.
Despres made “cryptic” comments about Bishop’s whereabouts while speaking to officers, according to a news release.
‘’His story was not really lining up,’’ Captain Tim Wood said. ‘’There was no emotion as far as like, you just lost a loved one close to you.’’
As detectives further questioned Despres, he confessed to killing Bishop and then “staging” her body in the truck, police said.
Despres was booked into the Indian River County Jail on a charge of premeditated first-degree murder. Records did not list a lawyer who could speak on his behalf.
An arrest report reads Despres strangled Bishop with a rope he made with handles on each end.
Police said Despres worked as a handyman.
The arrest report continued that he planned the murder of his 67-year-old fiancée for several days, killing her the night before, then driving to Walmart in the morning and leaving her body in the car.
‘’Due to them having prior issues, he had already started planning this in advance,’’ Wood said.
Police said those issues included a lot of arguing.