Body of missing Florida woman found, boyfriend charged with second-degree murder

A Florida woman who has been missing for more than a week was found dead on Tuesday, a day after her boyfriend was charged with second-degree murder, officials said.

Collin Knapp, 30, was arrested on Monday in connection with the disappearance of 34-year-old Kathleen Moore, the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office announced.

Moore was found Tuesday about 50 yards away from Knapp's home after extensive searching, according to Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco. Authorities identified her through her tattoos.

"It was a very heavily-brushed area," Nocco said. "She was actually covered ... she was definitely covered on purpose to make sure nobody could come upon her.”

Nocco previously said that investigators were under the belief that Moore was dead and were asking for Knapp's assistance to find her body.

“We wish that Collin would provide us information on where Kathleen is … As one of our detectives described, he was very cold, even when we were begging with him to tell us where her body is, he wouldn’t give us that information,” Nocco said in a press conference Monday. Moore had not been seen since early Nov. 29, according to the sheriff's office. Family and friends notified the neighboring Pinellas County Sheriff's Office that she was missing after she missed work and school.

They told authorities that she’s normally very active on social media and communicative with friends and family.

Nocco said investigators were led to Knapp after blood matching Moore's was found on clothes he threw in a dumpster at the restaurant where he worked.

Knapp and Moore had gone out to drinks with friends on Nov. 28 in Largo and Indian Rocks Beach, and were seen arguing at some of the bars, Nocco said as he outlined a timeline of events. They left together in Knapp’s Cadillac. At 12:30 a.m., Knapp was seen at a 7-Eleven buying cigarettes.

The couple went to Knapp’s residence in New Port Richey, a city northwest of Tampa, where they got into another argument, Nocco said.

Knapp claimed Moore left his residence with her backpack, but Nocco said there’s no evidence that she left the home.

Around 1:30 a.m. on Nov. 29, Knapp went to his job at the Harold Seltzer’s Steakhouse in Port Richey to complete a meat inventory, he told investigators.

“We found out through the investigation that Collin had some garments of clothes that he had taken to work at Harolds Seltzer's and put it in the dumpster there,” Nocco said.

The dumpster was taken to a county landfill where investigators combed through the contents and found articles of Knapp’s clothing with blood stains.

Those garments were sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the blood stains were found to match Moore.

Knapp has a lengthy criminal history — 10 previous felony arrests and nine misdemeanor arrests since 2004 including aggravated assault and domestic violence, Nocco said. (Moore was not involved in that domestic case.)

“Our hearts and prayers pour out to the family and friends of Kathleen Moore," Nocco said. "I know you were all searching for a better resolution. Unfortunately, this is what we have.”

Anyone with information in the case is asked to call 727-847-8102, option 7.

If you or someone you know are experiencing abuse and need help, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE.