A 34-year-old Florida man is charged with murdering missing Pensacola woman after her body was located overnight, according to reports.
Mikhail Fountain was arrested around 2:10 a.m. Friday for homicide, battery and resisting arrest. He was previously arrested Tuesday in connection to the case on a charge of destroying evidence, then released on a $50,000 bond Thursday evening.
Pensacola Police announced Friday morning that remains of Kayla Atwood’s body were located late Thursday night in a shallow grave in the woods near the intersection of Fairfield Drive and Crow Road in Escambia County. Fountain was then arrested on N G Street, where he lives in the 300 block.
The 32-year-old mother of four had been missing since Jan. 3. Fountain is a recent ex-boyfriend of Atwood.
“[We] suspect probably jealousy,” Pensacola Police Chief Eric Randall said Friday morning when asked about a motive for the killing.
According to Fountain’s arrest report from Tuesday, the destroying evidence charge stems from him deleting surveillance video showing Atwood’s whereabouts on Jan. 3, deleting texts between him and Atwood on Jan. 3, and making false statements to police. Police noted that Fountain showed “odd behavior” surrounding the investigation.
He also denied seeing Atwood on the day of her disappearance, according to the report.
Atwood was seen in video on Jan. 3 getting into a yellow Penske truck after dropping her kids off at daycare. The Penske truck driver dropped her off at home on W Belmont Street that afternoon. She was then seen on video minutes later getting into a pickup truck that matched the description of one owned by Fountain. Her phone was cut off a short time later and hasn’t been connected since.
Chief Randall said Friday that the pickup truck drove east on Belmont Street. Atwood’s cell phone last tracked to the 400-block of N G Street before it cut off.
Atwood’s neighbors told police Fountain came to their home a couple hours later that day and asked to see their surveillance footage, which is when he allegedly deleted video files.
The Penske truck driver has been cleared in the case. The report states he told police he met Atwood on a dating app two days before her disappearance and had been helping her drop the children off at daycare.
According to the report, after dropping Atwood off at home the afternoon of her disappearance, the Penske truck driver said he received a call five minutes later from Atwood’s phone. A male voice asked repeatedly “Who is this?” before hanging up.
Fountain is being held in Escambia County Jail on no bond.
Police say an investigation into the case is ongoing.
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