Man set car on fire with body inside, police say – but detectives don't think he killed the person

Detectives say they have arrested the person accused of setting a car on fire with a man's body in the trunk in 2020.

Police say Andy Bryant, 34, faces charges of arson and abuse of a dead human body. Investigators say they do not think Bryant killed the man found in the trunk, who was later identified as Jesus Manuel Tavarez-Soto.

Police say the investigation, along with the autopsy report, showed that the Tavarez-Soto died from other means.

Detectives say Bryant confessed to them he found the man dead and disposed of the body by putting it in the car and setting it on fire.

Officers with the Gulfport Police Department and the St Petersburg Police Department have been working on this case since the car was found behind the Twin Brooks golf course in September 2021. 

At this time, the medical examiner's office has listed Tavarez-Soto's cause of death as undetermined. 

Bryant is currently being held in the Pinellas County Jail with a $500,000
bond.

RELATED: Police: Body found inside burned car behind St. Petersburg golf course identified

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