After asking for public's help identifying a woman with a 'Pray for Death' tattoo, Polk County Sheriff's detectives have announced the woman was a victim of a vicious murder allegedly at the hands of her ex-boyfriend.
Detectives determined a female's body found in Polk City on Tuesday belonged to Laura Michelle Hunt, 20, of Plant City. She was identified using dental records.
Hunt was discovered in a wooded area near 300 Walker Lane and Berkley Road by a man who works in the area. It was determined the woman was murdered and her body had been left at the scene for 18 to 24 hours. According to detectives, Hunt was strangled to death.
Polk County Sheriff's spokesperson Carrie Eleazer said detectives were able to identify the woman's remains with the public's help after media attention announced the macabre and ominous Pray for Death tattoo on her body.
On Wednesday, the sheriff's office announced Hunt's ex-boyfriend, Patrick Eugene Wilkey, 21, of Auburndale, was arrested and charged with 1st-degree murder in the woman's death.
According to an arrest affidavit, Wilkey confessed to choking Hunt to death on July 9 and then driving around in her car with her body in the trunk for two days before dumping her body in Polk City. He allegedly admitted to detectives he drove to visit his mother in Cape Coral and he also used Hunt's credit card to fill her car up with gas while her body was in the trunk.
Wilkey was booked into the Polk County Jail. His criminal history includes burglary, grand larceny with a firearm, dealing in stolen property and various other charges.