LEE COUNTY, Fla. — As the search for a 21-year-old Lehigh Acres man ends with the discovery of his body, the question now shifts to the two people in custody and what charges could be coming.
Sheriff Carmine Marceno will host a press conference announcing an update on the homicide of Damari Ali on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m.
WATCH NOW | Damari Ali Homicide
Lee County Sheriff Deputies (LCSO) said they found the remains of 21-year-old Damari Ali off Dominion Avenue South near Bell Boulevard. Sheriff Carmine Marceno said they're investigating the case as a homicide.
Here is what we know so far, two suspects are in the Lee County Jail tonight and are facing unrelated charges. However, Sheriff Carmine Marceno said he is confident prosecutors will charge the suspects with murder.
Late Tuesday afternoon, LCSO confirmed with Fox 4 that an update regarding the investigation will be announced Wednesday morning.
The investigation comes from a suspicious vehicle that was reported less than a week ago, a discovery neighbors emailed Fox 4 about.
Fox 4's Briana Brownlee was in the area where the body of what's believed to be 21-year-old Damari was found Tuesday morning.
In the last 6 days, people who knew the 21-year-old reached out to Fox 4 as well as posted on social media in hopes that he would be found safe. However, Sheriff Marceno had news that loved ones and people following Damari's story didn't want to hear.
“It's sad to hear something like that… Nobody wants to hear something like that happening close to where you live," said one neighbor.
"Unfortunately it's sad that if he's been out there for so many days it's just sad," said another neighbor."
Neighbors were so shaken up to the point they didn't want to show their faces after coming home from work to find out LCSO found remains in their neighborhood near Bell Boulevard South in Lehigh Acres.
The corner hasn't confirmed who the remains belong to, but Sheriff Marceno isn't having any doubts.
“We're confident that this, unfortunately, is Mr. Ali," Sheriff Carmine Marceno said.
21-year-old Damari Ali, the young man was last seen on Wednesday near Barnum Avenue and Jaguar Boulevard, and that Thursday was when LCSO received calls for an abandoned car that sparked the investigation.
"Immediately upon rolling up on that vehicle, our patrol deputies knew immediately that what that vehicle looked like, what it looked like inside it was going to be a crime scene," Sheriff Marceno said.
And days later the remains that believed to be Damari were found.
“This is someone's family member," Sheriff Marceno said.
“It's shocking to hear about all of these murders and people dying for no reason," said one man who lived in the area for more than two decades.
“We wish if he was out there any earlier than today we wish we would have found something or seen something so we could've called it in," said one neighbor who lived close to where the remains were found.
She added that it hurts knowing that the remains were so close to her home and she never noticed anything out of the ordinary, but she does find relief knowing two people are in custody.
“It's great they were able to pinpoint someone that did this to him, it's sad that it had to happen to him at such a young age," she said. “Now we just pray for the family and hopefully, he gets justice."
Sheriff Marceno expects both suspects to be charged with homicide soon and credits the department's DNA analysis machine for locating the duo so quickly.
The department told FOX 4 that an update is scheduled to come Wednesday morning.
The sheriff's office said this is an isolated incident and is working with the medical examiner to determine the identity of the victim.
Anyone with information should call the Lee County Sheriff’s Office at 239-477-1000 or Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-TIPS.
