Florida Man Who Allegedly Lied About Girlfriend's Location Arrested for Her 'Brutal' Murder, Police Say

A Florida man has been arrested for the “brutal” killing of his girlfriend at their home.

Andrew Ridgeway, 46, is facing charges of second degree murder and providing false information to law enforcement in connection with the death of 48-year-old Stacy Ann Powell, who was reported missing two days after she last logged into her work computer, Auburndale, Fla. police said in a press release.

Officers went to Powell's home on Thursday, Feb. 6, to check on her and spoke to a handyman who had been hired to repair and remodel cabinets.

The handyman reported that Powell and Ridgeway were not home.

While officers were talking to the handyman, Ridgeway allegedly called the handyman to ask why the police were there.

“He apparently had security cameras that he could see that we were there,” Auburndale Police Chief Police Chief Terry Storie said at a Friday, Feb. 7 press conference about the killing, per WFLA.

During a phone conversation with an officer, Ridgeway said he was in North Carolina with Stacy’s grandmother. He also allegedly told the officer that Powell had taken an Uber to Orlando International Airport on Wednesday, Feb. 5 and took a flight to Jamaica to visit her father, who had been ill.

“We were quickly able to identify that Ridgeway was not telling the truth about his whereabouts, the grandmother's whereabouts and Stacy's whereabouts,” Storie said. “Additionally, Stacy's father lives in North Carolina, not Jamaica, and the grandmother lives here in Auburndale and was here in Auburndale last evening.”

Officers executed a search warrant on Feb. 6 and discovered that “Stacy Ann Powell had been brutally and savagely attacked and murdered,” Storie said.

“It was a brutal attack," Storie continued. "So much so that we had to wait till this afternoon to get an identification on her because we recovered her body [Thursday] evening.”

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Storie said “not one, two, but three crime scene technicians” were needed to process the scene.

Storie said investigators suspect that Powell was killed in the late afternoon or early evening of Feb. 4.

Ridgeway was apprehended in Georgia while driving Powell’s Dodge Ram pick-up truck the following day, according to Storie.  He is now awaiting extradition back to Florida, Auburndale police told PEOPLE.

Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact the department at 863-965-5555.

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