CAPE CORAL, Fla. — Fox 4 has confirmed that the man accused of killing 56-year-old Barry Schmalbach is back in Florida from a South Carolina prison.
36-year-old Christopher Gregory Davis was serving time for unrelated charges. According to South Carolina officials, Davis was taken to Florida on Monday for court hearings.
Both South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed an Interstate Agreement on Detainers request on June 21, which brought Davis back to Florida for the murder charge.
Back in January 2024, the State Attorney's Office issued a second-degree murder warrant in connection to the disappearance and death of Schmalbach.
He was last seen on July 19, 2023, and the last time someone physically saw Schmalbach, he was at Cruisers bar in downtown Cape Coral with Davis.
During a press conference in January, Cape Coral Police Chief Anthony Sizemore also confirmed the person of interest they told the public about back in August 2023 was Davis.
According to a police report, mutual friends say they had allegedly got into an argument and Barry left. His boyfriend said he left in an Uber or someone else's car and claiming Barry allegedly texted Davis and stated he was staying with friends and not to call him.
Davis had never been charged with anything related to Barry's disappearance until January 2024. However, he was arrested and booked into the Lee County Jail on August 1, 2023 for a 2018 South Carolina warrant.
Police are still searching for Schmalbach's body.
Davis is also facing one county of tampering with evidence and nine counts of fraudulent use of personal identification of a deceased individual.
According to South Carolina officials, they believe Davis will remain in Florida until Davis finishes his trial and sentence, if convicted.
If Davis is in Florida when he's scheduled to have his South Carolina parole hearing, it can be conducted virtually. The projected parole hearing is sometime in July 2024.
Fox 4 has reached out to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for more information.
