Timothy Upthegrove: Florida man gets life sentence for killing his wife in 2017 and hiding body in woods
Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion advised.
FLORIDA, UNITED STATES: A 59 years old, Florida man has been given a life sentence for killing his wife. He beat and stabbed his 51-year-old wife to death in their house as per Law&Crime.
In 2017, Timothy A Upthegrove killed his wife, Lore Upthegrove. He hid her body in the woods and got rid of evidence of what he did. Later, he told the authorities that his wife was "in heaven."
Later, during the investigation, Timothy confessed to killing her and assisted the police in locating her body.
What happened during sentence hearing?
On Thursday, authorities announced that Timothy A Upthegrove has been sentenced to life in a state correctional facility by Eighteenth Judicial Circuit Court Judge Steven Henderson for the 2017 killing of Lori Upthegrove.
Before his sentencing, a Brevard County jury spent around nine hours deliberating. They found Timothy Upthegrove guilty on charges of first-degree premeditated murder, tampering with evidence, and failure to report a death.
Police found disturbing evidence after Lori was reported missing
According to court papers, Lori's family and friends first told the Titusville Police Department she was missing on December 19, 2017.
They found her car at a Days Inn motel on Cheney Highway.
There were signs of blood on the car's front, back, doors, and at least one tire. Inside the vehicle, police found a lot of blood evidence.
Timothy Upthegrove was staying at the motel. When police talked to him, they noticed cuts and scrapes on his hands, arms, and knees.
Later, they found women’s clothes with blood on them and bloody towels in a dumpster on the motel property.
When police went to their home on Cleveland Street, they found a lot of blood and signs that someone tried to clean it up.
In the garage, they found an axe and a hammer with blood on them, as well as a hair clip in the area with the most blood.
Police stated in the affidavit, “several items were located in the garage to include an axe stained with blood evidence, a hammer stained with blood evidence, and a hair clip found on the ground in the area of where most of the blood was concentrated,”
Timothy Upthegrove admits to killing his wife
Timothy Upthegrove went to the police station for questioning. He admitted being in the garage and knowing there was blood there.
He also confessed to throwing bloody towels and clothes in the motel dumpster.
During the interview, he said Lori was in heaven and things got out of control during an argument near the garage. He admitted killing her after coming home from using drugs.
After the argument, he put her body in his car and took it to a wooded area on Bobbi Lane, owned by a relative, where he hid her body in tall grass.
He later told police where to find Lori's body. According to court records, the Upthegroves had a history of domestic violence. In one instance in August 2017, Timothy Upthegrove bit Lori's face during an argument, leaving bite marks. This case was still pending when he was charged with murder.
