Man faces tampering charge after burning body found near Sunshine Skyway bridge
TAMPA — A 55-year-old man was arrested Saturday in connection to the discovery of a burned body found earlier this month near the Sunshine Skyway bridge, deputies say.
Fred Williams was arrested on a charge of tampering with physical evidence, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
However, he faces no charge related to the death of the woman whose charred remains were found June 9 in a St. Petersburg rest area near the bridge. The Sheriff’s Office has not released her name and has only identified her as a woman in her 30s who worked at a Town ‘N Country condo complex.
The Sheriff’s Office did not release any new information about that case on Saturday, saying it remains an active homicide investigation. Nor did the agency did not say what evidence Williams is accused of tampering with.
A missing persons report was filed for the woman on June 9, deputies say, the same night her body was found near the St. Petersburg side of the bridge.
She worked as a security guard at Beach Walk Condominiums at 4349 Bayside Village Drive in Town ‘N Country She was reported missing by a family member after she didn’t return home at her normal time. Her vehicle was found at the complex.
That same night, St. Petersburg Fire Rescue firefighters were dispatched to a fire in the woods near the rest stop. Then they discovered the body of a woman, and deputies say they learned it was the woman reported missing. The Sunshine Skyway bridge and the rest stop are under the jurisdiction of Hillsborough deputies.
Williams’ home address is listed as a unit at Bayside Village Drive at Beach Walk Condominiums. He was arrested at the address for St. Joseph’s Hospital. He was then booked into the Hillsborough County jail, where he remained late Saturday held in lieu of a $2,000 bail.
