WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. — Pasco County deputies say a man is behind bars after he admitted to killing his girlfriend during a fight and rolling her body in a tarp more than five weeks ago.
The death investigation began on April 10 when deputies received reports of a decomposing body found in the woods, according to a release from the sheriff's office. Detectives say the body was wrapped in tarps, covered with an additional tarp, and pinned to the ground with tent stakes.
An investigation revealed that 59-year-old David Thomas was in a five-year relationship with the woman found dead, the sheriff's office says. The two were known to have lived in the same wooded area where the body was found.
Detectives say Thomas was relieved to see law enforcement when they located and interviewed him on Tuesday "as he has been struggling the last five weeks over what he did."
According to an arrest affidavit, Thomas told detectives he killed his girlfriend during a physical altercation on March 24. He admitted to kneeling over the woman's torso while she was on her back, pinning her body to the ground then using his left forearm to apply pressure to her neck for several minutes until she stopped breathing, the report says.
Deputies say Thomas then wrapped the woman's body in a tarp and dragged it to an area of the woods where he intended to bury it. Unable to dig a hole, he then wrapped the body in several more tarps, staked it to the ground, and covered it with debris and trash, according to the sheriff's office.
Detectives say Thomas had begun making arrangements to flee the country. He was arrested for second-degree murder and transported to the Land O' Lakes Detention Center.
