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Sanel Saint Simon, 43, the longtime boyfriend of the missing girl's mother, has been arrested and charged with providing false information to a law enforcement officer and attempted destruction of evidence.
According to his arrest affidavit, Saint Simon is accused of cleaning bloodspatter in the home and lying to detectives about his whereabouts on the day of Alexandria Chery's disappearance.
During the investigation, Saint Simon told detectives that he was at his job at Boston Market all day Monday, but his employers disputed that claim, saying he left at 9:30 a.m. without clocking out, deputies said. Saint Simon later recanted his story and said he left work early but stayed in a nearby plaza all day.
Deputies also said Saint Simon was the only person inside the apartment when someone cleaned bloodspatter in Chery's room, the hallway and the bathroom.
Chery told her mother, Rosalie Joseph, at 7 a.m. Monday that she didn't feel well and was going to stay home for the day. Chery's mother called police after she tried to contact her daughter several times Monday and couldn't reach her.
Rosalie Joseph said she went home at 6 p.m., and her daughter's bedroom was completely different from how she last left it. Almost all of Chery's belongings were gone, and her bed, which is usually made, was stripped of all the bedding.
"There was blood in the house. In the carpet. In the bathroom. In the hallway," said Chery's uncle, Ray Joseph. "The house looked like someone was trying to clean up the evidence."
Rosalie Joseph also said she located blood splatter in several other areas of the home, including on a teddy bear inside Chery's room.
Rosalie Joseph also said she located blood splatter in several other areas of the home, including on a teddy bear inside Chery's room.
"We could be looking at a homicide. That's not what we're saying at this time, but that's the worst-case scenario," Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said in a news conference Wednesday.
Deputies said at some point during the investigation, Saint Simon tried to clean the blood when Joseph wasn't home.
Rosalie Joseph told detectives she found a pair of men's underwear under Chery's bed and noticed a strange odor of bleach under the bed and a "wet area."
Deputies are asking anyone who has talked to Chery in the past 48 hours or who has interacted with Saint Simon to call them.
"When a child goes missing, our community takes notice and comes together to assist the families," said Demings.
Deputies said Saint Simon was driving a black Pontiac (image) and are asking anyone who may have seen the vehicle in the neighborhood to come forward.
"I hope he can be man enough to lead us to where she is at. If she's safe or not. We just want to be able to find her," Ray Joseph said.
Read more: http://www.wesh.com/news/mothers-boyfriend-arrested-in-case-of-missing-teenager/27229566#ixzz39jKmJDDE
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