HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man now faces a second-degree murder charge in the case of a missing woman whose toddler was found wandering alone in a parking lot last July.
Hollywood police say 40-year-old Shannon Ryan also faces a charge of tampering with evidence in the case of Leila Cavett.
The 21-year-old from Jasper, Alabama, had been working in Atlanta and disappeared in Florida, where surveillance video showed her in the passenger seat of Ryan’s gold Lexus at a gas station in Hollywood.
Her son was found alone the next morning.
Ryan was also recorded buying carpet deodorant, trash bags and duct tape.
The special agent in charge of the FBI's Miami office had sought help from the public in locating the missing woman, and he echoed concerns about the "safety and well-being" of the young mother.
Cavett was last seen just hours before her 2-year-old son, Kamdyn, was found wandering alone outside an apartment complex.
Authorities believe Cavett and her son had arrived in South Florida the day before she went missing and after spending time in several Broward County communities. Her vehicle was found unattended July 28 in Hollywood.
In a rambling 51-minute video posted on Facebook, a man who appears to be Ryan says he was the last person to see Cavett.
"We have a missing woman, and I gave the police everything that I know," he says in the video.
A representative for the FBI's Miami field office could not be immediately reached for comment.
