Jessica Winkler, 48, called 911 after she allegedly shot her wife with a shotgun and told operators where she planned to leave the body in Englewood, Florida
A Florida woman was arrested on Saturday night after she fatally shot her wife during an argument, say local police.
A guilt stricken Jessica Winkler, 48, called 911 after she attempted to dump the body of Rhiannon W Layendecker, 51, in Englewood, Florida.
Winkler told dispatchers that she left the dead body in the back of a truck on a property they both owned.
The woman was charged with second-degree murder and tampering with evidence.
The recorded call to police, Winkler’s own testimony to Sarasota County detectives and complementary evidence from both Englewood and Charlotte County led to charge.
Winkler (left) told dispatchers that she left her Rhiannon W Layendecker’s (right) body in the back of a truck on the property at 1429 Overbrook Road in Englewood
According to the sheriff’s report, Winkler called the dispatcher around 4pm on Saturday, some 15 hours after she allegedly shot Layendecker at their home.
She told the operator the victim’s body could be found in the back of her maroon 2003 Dodge with Florida tags.
The two had had a disagreement when Winkler got a gun and shot Layendecker, according to sheriff’s report.
At her family’s home in Charlotte County, Winkler had planned to rid herself of the body and bury Layendecker in a hole
A medical examiner said that the single gun-shot wound killed the woman. But the nature of the wound was not mentioned by the examiner.
Winkler was said to have moved the body using a chair with wheels and tossed the gun into some nearby water after shooting Layendecker on Friday night.
The Sheriff’s Office dive team retrieved the firearm.
The woman was charged with second-degree murder and tampering with evidence
At her family’s home in Charlotte County, Winkler had planned to rid herself of the body and bury Layendecker in a hole.
The landscaper was reportedly seen digging the hole by neighbors.
WInkler is currently in custody at the Sarasota County Jail and was not given bond for the murder. She was put on $1500 bond for tampering with evidence.
Jail records indicate that she will be arraigned on January 19.