Pensacola, FL: Man held in death of girlfriend buried in shallow grave

Written by

Carmen Paige

12:00 AM, Mar. 5, 2011|

A Pensacola man was arrested Friday in the
death of his girlfriend, whose body was
found Feb. 23 in woods behind the
apartment they shared.

Robert Snipe Jr., 30, was charged with
second-degree murder in the death of
Catherine Angelica Lindsey, 22.

Lindsey met Snipe online about two years
ago, her mother, Angela Richardson, said
Friday. He soon moved to Pensacola from
Charleston, S.C., to live with Lindsey, she
said.

Their relationship started off OK,
Richardson said. The two had a son, now 1
year old, and she had a 3-year-old son
from a previous relationship.

Later, the couple was embroiled in a child
support dispute, which was closed in July,
according to the Escambia County Clerk of
Court.

But Richardson believes the relationship
really began to sour about one month ago.

The Medical Examiner's Office is awaiting
toxicology results before announcing the
cause of death, said Deputy Chris Welborn,
an Escambia County Sheriff's Office
spokesman.

Lindsey's body was found in a shallow
grave behind the Twin Oaks Villas
Apartments near New Warrington Road.

"I knew it was him from the very beginning,"
Richardson said. "Now I know (my
daughter) is going to rest in peace."

Lindsey's family reported her missing Feb.
18. Richardson said she'd received a text
message the day before that read,
"Whoever this is, she's in mobil al dead."

Lindsey had not shown up for work at
Superthrift on North Ninth Avenue, and her
mother had not spoken to her the night
before.

"She came by my house every morning and
called me every night before going to bed,"
Richardson said. "I hadn't heard from her,
and that's how I knew something was
wrong."

As investigators searched for evidence,
they found Lindsey's decomposed body in
a wooded area behind the apartment
complex.

"This arrest was the result of the tireless
efforts of our crime scene technicians and
criminal investigators," Welborn said.

Lindsey had wanted to move on from the
relationship, Richardson said.

"My daughter had started trying to move on
with someone who wanted something out of
life," she said. "(Snipe) just wanted to stay
home, take