Jeff Bostwick is charged with murder after he allegedly killed a woman on Nov. 3, 2023, at his home in Jay, Florida, and then sent her a Facebook message weeks later wishing her a Happy Thanksgiving. (Santa Rosa County Jail)
A Florida man killed a woman and sent her a Facebook message weeks later wishing her a Happy Thanksgiving because he said it would help his mental health, a probable cause arrest affidavit reviewed by Law&Crime says.
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office received a tip on Friday from an informant who said his friend Christina Uribe had been missing for three months and he heard 53-year-old Jeff Bostwick killed her. Another informant said Bostwick told her that he killed Uribe with a shotgun and that he put her body in a trailer on his lawn mower and buried her behind his shed on his 5 acres of property in Jay, located in Florida’s Panhandle near Pensacola, according to the affidavit.
One of the informants also alleged Bostwick previously hit Uribe and fired a shotgun in the air in September or October of 2023. Uribe went back to Bostwick’s home a few weeks later and no one has heard from her since.
Uribe’s ex-boyfriend said he dropped her off at Bostwick’s home on Nov. 3. The ex had taken photos of him and Uribe, who was wearing a black tank top, in the car before he took her to Bostwick’s home. He told detectives that Bostwick was acting erratic and appeared to be holding a shotgun behind his back.
Deputies obtained a search warrant to search Bostwick’s home and recovered several firearms and ammunition from the home. As a convicted felon, he is not allowed to possess firearms. Cops also reportedly found some of Uribe’s clothing and jewelry.
During an interview with investigators, Bostwick admitted someone dropped Uribe off at his home in late October or early November but claimed she “left one day and didn’t know where she was,” the affidavit said. After detectives told him she had been “off the grid” and hadn’t been seen or heard from since Nov. 3, he showed them a screenshot of a Facebook message he sent her on Nov. 23 wishing her a Happy Thanksgiving.
“Jeff stated that Christina left some of her property in the residence and hasn’t returned to get it,” the affidavit says. “Jeff showed me Facebook Messages he sent to Christina after 11/3/2023, including wishing her a Happy Thanksgiving around 11/23/2023.”
With the information about the location of Uribe’s body, detectives on Saturday followed a trail behind Bostwick’s shed. They noticed an area of hills, one of which had soft packed dirt. Cops uncovered the body in the shallow grave. The body had a black tank top, which is what Uribe wore the day she went missing.
Confronted with the information that Uribe’s body was on his property, he allegedly admitted to shooting her with a shotgun and then moving the body with the trailer on the lawn mower. He drove the lawn mower until he couldn’t go any farther and buried the body, the affidavit said. Bostwick claimed he and Uribe were in his shed when she grabbed a gun and pointed it at him. He reportedly said he grabbed his shotgun and shot her twice.
A detective asked why he continued to message Uribe even after she was dead.
“Jeff stated that he was doing it for his mental health and was hoping she would message back and wouldn’t be dead,” the affidavit said.
Cops arrested Bostwick on a murder charge and took him to the Santa Rosa County Jail where he is being held without bond.
