A man who confessed to strangling his ex-girlfriend then dumping her body in the woods, was arrested Wednesday.
21-year-old Patrick Wilkey, of Auburndale, is accused of chocking to death his ex-girlfriend, Laura Hunt, 20, of Plant City, Polk County deputies said.
Wilkey told investigators he strangled Hunt to death on Monday, drove around in her car with her body in the trunk for two days, before dumping it in a wooded area in Polk City.
Wilkey also told investigators, he chocked Hunt with whom he was having sexual intercourse, after he became angry because she told him “she wanted to have sexual intercourse with his friend.”
According to Wilkey’s arrest affidavit, he chocked Hunt for about 8 minutes with the intention of killing her. He told detectives it took longer than seen on movies and his “thumbs were still hurting from how hard he was squeezing.” He said he then placed Hunt “in the front passenger side seat with her legs extended over his lap and grabbed a belt from the rear seat of the vehicle and looped it around her neck.”
Wilkey said he then drove to visit his mother in Cape Coral, and used Hunt’s credit card to fill her car up with gas. He told detectives, at some point, he stopped and threw Hunt’s body in the trunk.
Hunt’s body was found in a wooded area near 300 Walker Lane in Polk City on Tuesday, by a man who works in the area. The victim’s body was positively identified today by tattoos and dental records. The medical examiner ruled that Hunt died from manual strangulation.
Wilkey was arrested Wednesday and charged with first degree murder and booked into the Polk County Jail.
