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Man charged in ‘no-body’ Tacoma, WA murder case
Investigators say a Tacoma man killed his girlfriend — who is a mother — then stole her identity and tried to convince her friends she was still alive. Her body was never found, but detectives still found evidence to make an arrest.
TACOMA, Wash. - A 30-year-old Tacoma man has been charged with murder, after investigators uncovered evidence linking him to the disappearance of his girlfriend, despite her body not yet being found.
Kendrick Bruce was arrested and had his bail set at $2 million on Thursday.
Prosecutors allege that Bruce killed his girlfriend, stole her identity, and attempted to convince her friends that she was still alive.
No body found, detectives find murder charge
What we know:
The investigation began in April after the victim's friends and family contacted authorities for a welfare check.
"Some friends were calling in and saying they had not heard from their friend," said Officer Shelbie Boyd of the Tacoma Police Department.
According to probable cause documents, friends and family members had previously expressed concerns about Bruce. The victim had reportedly told friends that Bruce beat her.
According to probable cause documents, the victim said, "If anything happens to me, Kendrick did it," and told her friends Bruce claimed, "no one would find your body."
Timeline:
Police initially arrested Bruce on Monday on identity theft charges after discovering evidence that he was using the victim's debit card. He was subsequently released, but the investigation quickly escalated.
"More evidence was able to come out that said we believe we have a murder," Boyd said.
Dig deeper:
Investigators ultimately linked Bruce to the homicide through a combination of forensic evidence and digital data, despite the absence of the victim's body.
Search warrants revealed that Bruce's online search history included queries about different ways to kill someone, how to unlock another person's phone, how to clean up blood, and information about defiling a body.
Detectives also discovered blood throughout the victim's apartment, and cadaver dogs alerted handlers while searching Bruce's vehicle.
Bruce remains in custody following his multi-million dollar bail arraignment.
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The Source: Information in this story comes from original reporting by FOX 13 Seattle reporter AJ Janavel.