Skeletal remains lead to arrest

A Jay man was arrested Feb. 10 and charged with murder and felony possession of a weapon the when skeletal remains of a female were discovered in a shallow grave on his land.

Jeffrey Scott Bostwick, 53, 2951 CobbTown Road, was questioned about the disappearance of Christina Uribe following information provided by an informant that around the middle of January, he told a third party he had shot Uribe with a shotgun and buried her, according to a Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office report.

Uribe was reported missing for three months by the informant who advised he had heard Bostwick killed her. A second informant, who had spoken with Bostwick in the middle of January, told deputies that Bostwick told her Uribe would never come back and that he had shot her and buried her, according to the report. She also told them Bostwick was in possession of numerous firearms.

Deputies learned of an incident around September or October 2023 when Bostwick's mother brought Uribe to his home, where Uribe and Bostwick got into a 'disturbance' and Uribe had a black eye. The report said Uribe told someone that Bostwick hit her and pointed a shotgun at her but fired it in the air above her.

The witness said Uribe went back to Bostwick's house a day or two later and she was not heard from after a month or so later.

Deputies confirmed Bostwick is a convicted felon. A residential warrant was written for 2951 Cobb Town Road Feb. 9 for homicide and possession of a weapon or ammunition by a convicted felon, the report noted.

Located in a shed and house Bostwick kept locked away and accessed frequently at that address were: a Savage mark .22-caliber rifle; .22 long rifle ammunition; a .410-gauge Mossberg shotgun; .410 -gauge shotgun shells; 9 mm ammunition; .380 caliber ammunition; .32 Smith & Wesson ammunition; and a rusted rifle without a stock.

Deputies spoke with Bostwick, who told them Uribe left one day around the end of October or early November 2023, and he did not know where she was. The report said he stated Uribe had met someone at the end of the driveway and left.

Deputies explained Uribe was off the grid and no one has seen or heard from her since November 2023. During the interview, the deputy was informed that some of Uribe's personal property (clothes and jewelry) was still inside the residence and Bostwick said she had not returned to get it. Bostwick showed deputies messages on social media he had sent to Uribe during November stating that he had not heard from her either, the report said. He told authorities if a body was found on his property, he was being set up and denied he and Uribe ever had any physical altercations.

A friend of Uribe's told a Santa Rosa County detective she dropped Uribe off at Boatwick's house in early November and that was the last time the friend had seen of heard from her. He said Bostwick was standing in the doorway of his work shed and appeared to be holding a gun behind his back and was acting erratic.

The report said the friend had pictures of Uribe and Bostwick in the car with the time stamped at 2 p.m. on Nov. 3, 2023. Uribe was wearing a black tank top in the picture.

Detectives spoke with an informant who said a conversation took place between the informant and another person about the possible location of Uribe's body. The person said there was a place behind Bostwick's work shed in the woods where Bostwick used to hang out.

Through the property appraiser's website, the property is owned by Bostwick's mother, Bonnie Carroll and the address is 2975 Cobbtown Road. A search warrant was issued for that address.

On Feb. 10, detectives located the area and found a trail leading to Bostwick's residence where there was no growth due to frequent foot traffic, according to the report. In the area with hills, a spot with soft packed dirt was found.

A witness told detectives Bostwick told her he shot Uribe and put her in a trailer attached to his lawn mower and drove down the trail from his residence to behind his mother's residence. When he could go no further due to a tree felled that blocked his way, Bostwick told the witness he stopped there and buried Uribe there, to the left of the trail, according to the report.

Santa Rosa Sheriff's Office detectives located the area with the downed tree and a hole to the left of the trail with flies coming out of it. They excavated the grave and recovered the skeletal remains believed to be Uribe. The report said the remains appeared to be wearing a black tank top, similar to the one Uribe was wearing in the photo taken Nov. 3, 2023.

Bostwick was interviewed a second time and told that the witness provided information on exactly where Uribe's body would be and that she knew that information from Bostwick. Bostwick told the detective initially that implied the witness must have had something to do with Uribe's death if she knew so much about where her body would be.

The report stated the detective explained about the photo of Uribe and Bostwick timestamped Nov. 3 to Bostwick and that he had spoken with Bostwick's mother for about an hour and a half. Bostwick seemed agitated and told the detective to leave his mother out of this.

Bostwick then proceeded to say that he would tell the truth.

He stated Uribe got dropped off at his house Nov. 3, and a few hours later, the two were in his shed and Uribe grabbed and pointed a 9 mm handgun at him out of nowhere. He said Uribe was crying and mouthed something under her breath he couldn't understand. Bostwick said he told Uribe to put the gun down but she refused and kept walking toward him.

Heavily redacted, the report stated Bostwick said Uribe had never pointed a gun at him before and that she was upset they were not together anymore. The detective asked Bostwick why he continued to message Uribe on social media after Nov. 3 when he knew she was dead and he had buried her. The report was redacted on what Bostwick replied.

Bostwick was arrested Feb. 10 and charged with homicide and three counts felony possession of a weapon, ammunition or firearm by a convicted felon. He was transported to Santa Rosa County Jail being held without bond.