NEPHI -- The body of a woman found dead in Juab County eight years ago has been identified, and her husband, in jail in Florida, has been charged with the crime.
Juab County Sheriff David Carter said the woman was identified as Barbara Kaye Williams. An aggravated murder charge has been filed in 4th District Court in Juab County against the woman's husband, Howell Williams, in connection with her death.Police believe the couple were Salt Lake City residents at the time of the woman's death in 1991. Three Utah law officers delivered a warrant this week to Fort Meyers, Fla., for Howell Williams, who is being held in that state on a parole violation.
"We are working on extradition and plan to bring Howell Williams to Juab County to face charges in court," Carter said.
The nude body of Barbara Kaye Williams was discovered on March 22, 1991, near the I-15 Mills exit. She was formerly of Lake City, Fla.
Over the past several years, Carter said, the woman's mother had talked to Florida police a few times because she was concerned that she had not heard from her daughter. The Williams left Florida in 1990 but a formal missing person report was not filed until 1997. Lack of a report hampered the investigation in the early 1990s by Utah officials.
"(The mother) had talked to the sheriff but had not filed a report," Carter said. "A break in the case came when Agent Bill Gootee, with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, started working on old cases in Florida."
Carter said Gootee contacted him a few weeks ago.
"He let us know that our unidentified body and the missing woman could possibly be the same person. He said the weight, size and physical characteristics of both the body and the missing woman lead him to think they could be a match," Carter said.
The fingerprints collected by Juab County Sheriff's Department matched those Florida officials had of Barbara Kaye Williams.
"This case has really bothered me for the last eight years," said Carter. "I have made periodic attempts to find out who she might be and have felt uneasy not knowing why no one seemed to miss her.
"It would have been nearly impossible to identify Barbara Kaye Williams without the cooperation of all the law enforcement agencies which helped our case by sharing information," Carter said.