Today, State Attorney Amira Fox convened the Charlotte County Grand Jury and they have returned an indictment charging both Andrew Smith and Melissa Dymond-Demetrowitz with First Degree Murder with a Firearm, of Shawn Patrick Armstrong, Conspiracy to Commit First Degree Murder with a Firearm, and Tampering with or Fabricating Physical Evidence.
Both defendants are in custody at the Charlotte County Jail, being held without bond.
According to the indictment, between September 8, 2022, and September 13, 2022, Smith and Dymond-Demetrowitz conspired to murder the victim, a Charlotte County man.
Smith is accused of purchasing the firearm used to commit the murder. The victim was shot to death on or about September 13, 2022.
The victim was lured to a wooded area and murdered in Southern Charlotte County. His body was then put in his own vehicle. It is alleged the defendants then drove the victim’s body, in his truck, to Lee County, concealing the body beneath palm fronds in another wooded area.
The defendants were stopped by law enforcement, while driving the victim’s truck.
The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, led by Sheriff Bill Prummell, is the investigating agency in this case. The Punta Gorda Police Department and Lee County Sheriff’s Office also assisted.
Assistant State Attorney Caitlyn Sorenson and Assistant State Attorney Garrick Soja are prosecuting the case.
Samantha Syoen – Communications Director, State Attorney’s Office