CAPE CORAL, Fla. — Friday marks one year since anyone heard from Barry Schmalbach - a missing Cape Coral man who police say was murdered.
Police say the killer is then-boyfriend Christopher Gregory Davis.
Since the disappearance, Schmalbach's sister has held onto hope.
"In the front of my mind, it's always find Barry," said Emily Scaletta. "With it being a full year, it feels like time has moved so fast, yet so slow at the same time."
On July 19, 2023, court documents Fox 4 Senior Reporter Kaitlin Knapp first brought you, police say a neighbor in Schmalbach's condo complex heard a commotion followed by whimpering.
COURT DOCUMENTS: What a man bought, that could prove he killed his Cape boyfriend
Court documents show Davis bought a tarp, tape, a shovel and pick-axe over two days.
"It shouldn’t have happened. No one deserves this fate whatsoever," Scaletta said.
Documents released shed light on the days after anyone heard from Schmalbach. He wasn't reported missing until July 22 by friends in Cape Coral and in Illinois.
"With the new information that came out, we're hoping somebody in the community saw something that they didn't much of back then," Scaletta said.
Police searched in different areas for Schmalbach based on where Davis was, but to this day, they have not found his body.
When he was reported missing, community members, including the Marco Island Patriots, searched for Schmalbach.
"It's a lot — just having everyone here knowing that everyone has tried to find and everyone has put so much effort into finding him," Scaletta said. "I'm not concerned anyone is going to give up looking for him."
Despite not finding Schmalbach, and based on other evidence, police arrested Davis for murder and other fraud charges six months after Schmalbach's disappearance.
Cape Coral Police said in a statement,
“It has been one year since the murder of Barry. We have come a long way and worked tirelessly until we could put a case together that would put his killer behind bars. We are still looking for Barry—we ask our community: if you have any information, please come forward. We would love to bring whatever closure we can to his family.”
It's closure Scaletta is hoping for every single day.
"Right now it is still finding Barry, bringing him closure, bringing everything who was close to him some sense of closure and of course, justice for Barry," Scaletta said. "I'm ready to be in court."
Davis is expected to be back in court on August 29.
