A capital felony murder indictment against Jacobee Flowers, 28, was unsealed on Friday. The indictment shows how St. Petersburg police used cell phone records to make an arrest in the cold case of 17-year-old Morgan Martin, who was four months pregnant when she went missing outside her home back in 2012.
- Cell phone records used to track Flowers whereabouts on July 25, 2012
- Surveillance video from Sunshine Skyway toll booths also used
- Police still searching for victim's body
It was after midnight when a pajama-wearing Martin told her sister that she was going outside to see Flowers and not to lock the front door because she would be right back. Police said Flowers had infrequent contact with Martin after she told him that she was pregnant with their child and was planning on having the baby.
Cell phone records show Flowers went to Morgan's home located at 2808 17th Ave. S., at 12:33 a.m., on July 25, 2012, and her phone was then turned off at that time. Detectives said cell phone tower analysis shows that Flowers then traveled to his home located at 7000 53rd Avenue N. and stayed in the area until 1:20 a.m.
According to the indictment, Flowers then traveled to his place of employment, Kentucky Fried Chicken, at 7103 Seminole Blvd. in Seminole, arriving at 1:38 a.m. Police said Flowers was the closing shift manager and did not set the alarm after clocking out earlier that night. Flowers used an employee door to enter the restaurant that was not monitored by surveillance cameras, according to the report.
Detectives said Flowers then set a fire within the KFC cooler that stores chicken. He tried to conceal it by washing the floor down, but he left behind a substance that to date has not been identified.
At 3:32 a.m., Flowers left KFC and drove to an area in South St. Petersburg where Kwanza Smith, the mother of two of his children, lived at the time, according to the report. Police said Flowers left Smith's home at 3:49 a.m. and went back to the KFC location.
According to the indictment, Flowers left the KFC a second time at 4:39 a.m., placed a phone call to Smith and spoke to her for more than two minutes. Detectives said less than an hour later, cell tower analysis placed Flowers in Pasco County at I-75 and State Road 54 at 5:23 a.m., before his cell phone was turned off.
Police said nearly three hours later, Flowers turned his cell phone back on, which showed he was traveling southbound on I-75 near Brandon at 8:27 a.m. About 20 minutes later, surveillance video from the Sunshine Skyway toll booths showed Flowers driving northbound towards St. Petersburg.
Detectives said when they questioned Flowers about his whereabouts on July 24 or July 25, he denied speaking with or seeing Martin. Flowers also said he couldn't "recollect" ever having sex with Martin, according to the report.
Police said text messages between Flowers and Martin in the weeks leading up to the murder paint a much different picture. Flowers pleads with Martin to not "do this to me" and because she's a minor not to broadcast he is the father because he "don't need them problems." Flowers also tells Martin that he has three other children and a girlfriend, and to not expect anything from him, according to the report.
Police said a high school classmate told detectives that Flowers offered her money to beat up Martin about two months before she disappeared, and knew she was pregnant at the time. Detectives said they believe the motive for the murder was because Flowers was angry about Martin's pregnancy, the effect it would have on his relationship with his girlfriend, Ricqui Holly, his finances, possible criminal liabilities and the stress it was causing.
Flowers was transferred from a prison in Avon Park to the Pinellas County Jail on Thursday, and made his first appearance in court for first-degree murder on Friday. St. Petersburg police are still searching for Martin's body.