Ex-boyfriend charged with murder in death of missing Va. executive
CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- A man has been charged with first-degree murder in the case of missing executive Leyla Namiranian. According to CBS affiliate WTVR, Michael Anthony Edwards was indicted Wednesday and taken into custody Thursday morning.
Namiranian was last seen leaving work on April 4, 2012, reports the station, and police have declared her dead, despite the fact her body is still missing.
Edwards, previously told police he was dating Namiranian at the time of her disappearance, says the station.
"There is a laundry list of evidence," that led police to take this case to a grand jury, said Chesterfield police Capt. Chris Hensley, which includes electronic evidence. "Prior to trial I don't want to go into the details of any information that was discovered in the investigation."
Earlier in the investigation, police announced Edwards' phone records placed him near Namiranian's home, the night before she was reported missing. Detectives later found two cell phones belonging to Namiranian alongside Interstate 95, one on the shoulder of the northbound lanes, near the Henrico-Hanover border, and the other in a ditch about a mile north, reports the station.
According to the station, Chesterfield Police said Edwards worked near the area where the phones were found. Then, in January 2013, police unsealed court papers that showed blood had been found in the trunk of a car belonging to Edwards. Detectives at the time said physical evidence in the Namiranian case did not conclusively tie him to her disappearance and he has never been charged.
However, on Wednesday, Sept. 16, the facts of the case were presented to the Richmond metropolitan Grand Jury, who returned the first-degree murder indictment, says the station.
According to the station, Edwards has been taken into custody in Henrico. He was reportedly convicted in 1990 of brutally stabbing a woman and assaulting her daughter.
"This case involves a tremendous amount of legwork by these detectives," said Col. Thierry G. Dupuis. "Piecing a case together like this is very difficult -- I know as time goes on more information will be released."
"Have a little patience with us," Dupuis added.
Chesterfield has never tried a homicide case without a body, reports the station.