According to the Charlotte Observer, a body thought to be that of Bianca Tanner, the missing mother and teacher who disappeared on June 7, has been found in a wooded area in southwest Charlotte.
Police shared this information during a news conference early this morning. The body has been taken to the medical examiner’s office and police said that a positive identification will be made, as the body matches the description of the missing 31-year-old. Tanner’s boyfriend, whom she shared a home with after moving from Greensboro to Charlotte, was arrested this morning and charged with first-degree murder.
As we have shared with you before, Tanner was reported as last being seen on June 7. Her boyfriend, Angelo Smith, said that they had an argument and an intoxicated Tanner left their shared home with a bag. He reported her missing on June 8. However, Tanner’s 3-year-old son said that the night his mother disappeared, Smith physically abused her.
“Mommy got a spanking with a belt.”
“Angelo kicked mommy’s butt and made her cry.”
“Angelo is mean to mommy and hurt mommy in the face.”
Smith cooperated early in the search for Tanner, but family said that he eventually refused to talk to police without a lawyer. Feeling the heat, Smith actually left Charlotte without telling anyone, heading for his uncle’s home in Glenwood, Illinois, and leaving Tanner’s 3-year-old son behind by himself. Smith was arrested by U.S. Marshals and extradited back to Charlotte for the neglect and abuse of the 3-year-old (a charge of “contributing to the delinquency of a minor”), but he’s now facing a murder charge. When he was taken into custody again this morning, according to News-Record, Smith told reporters “I’m sorry” three times. He is being held without bail.
Relatives of Tanner’s have been informed of the discovery of the body, and the 3-year-old who provided the police with the information they needed to pinpoint the individual who could be responsible for Tanner’s disappearance is now staying with his actual father. The father does not reside in Charlotte.
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