Missing Florida Woman Turns Up Dead In Car Trunk In Tennessee

After the body of a missing Florida woman turned up in the trunk of a car states away in Tennessee, a 27-year-old babysitter is now in custody and accused of her “violent” death. 

Courtney Gibson turned herself into authorities in Lebanon, Tennessee on Wednesday following the disappearance of 36-year-old Florida woman Anna Primavere, whose body was allegedly found in Gibson’s car trunk in her parents' driveway on Sunday.

While authorities have released little information related to the developing investigation, Florida police suspect that Primavere was “killed in a violent manner” at the Titusville property where she lived sometime between 7 p.m. and midnight on the night of Feb. 21.

Around the time Primavere went missing, Gibson was supposedly hired as a babysitter by the landlord of the same residence where Primavere had rented a room in the small city about 40 miles east of Orlando, police said. Upon investigating Primavere’s disappearance, law enforcement observed that the missing woman’s mattress had also vanished. Officials stated that Primavere’s family first reported her missing to authorities.

Investigators first suspected Gibson’s involvement in Primavere’s disappearance after a doorbell cam recording captured her driving away from the neighborhood early Saturday morning with a mattress strung across the top of her red Kia Forte. At some point, while she was fleeing the scene, authorities say the mattress tumbled off the roof of her car. But instead of strapping it back on, Gibson opted to torch the mattress, police said. 

“That mattress fell off her car and she then burned it on the side of the road,” police said in a statement. 

Detectives later located Gibson and her car more than 700 miles away at her parents’ home in Lebanon, Tennessee on Feb. 23, according to law enforcement officials. She initially wouldn’t cooperate with investigators and a search warrant was later obtained for the woman’s car. Inside the Kia’s trunk, investigators allegedly found Primavere’s corpse.

"The body was discovered late today by law enforcement in Lebanon, Tennessee, based on a search warrant obtained with evidence presented by Titusville Police," Deputy Chief T. Hutchinson with Titusville Police Department said, WOFL reported.

It’s unclear if Gibson and Primavere knew each other, or what led to the 36-year-old’s slaying last week.

“Sadly, for everyone involved, this has ended in the worst-case scenario,” Lt. Chris Deloach also said in a statement.

Titusville and Lebanon Police Departments didn’t immediately respond to Oxygen.com’s request for comment on Thursday.

Gibson is currently being held at a Wilson County jail. It’s unclear if formal charges have been filed or when she’ll be extradited back to Florida.

Anna Primavera Photo: Facebook

Primavere worked as an administrative professional at West Palm Beach law firm Hightower & Partners. Representatives from the firm declined to comment on Thursday.

The 36-year-old was an avid New England Patriots fan, loved cats, and was active in her church community, according to her Facebook profile. She finalized a divorce with her husband, Dean Primavere, a former Brevard County Sheriff’s deputy in December, separate court documents show. 

Earlier this week, while police were investigating the building where Primavere rented a room, they observed a young girl, supposedly a daughter of one of the buildings’ residents, who allegedly had a bruised lower back, marks on her face, and was eating dirt. The father of that child, Zongmu Wang, 57, was arrested on child abuse charges on Feb. 24, according to a separate arrest affidavit obtained by Oxygen.com. Police said the charges were unrelated to Primavere’s murder case, WKMG-TV reported.