Chip Chick
35-year-old Justo Smoker was arrested a month after Linda went missing after multiple people had seen a red car with a male driver and an Amish woman in the passenger seat.
Justo drove an eye-catching red Kia, and he also matched the description that witnesses had given of the driver.
Authorities continued the investigation, and they were able to get video footage of Linda’s abduction, and the red car in the video footage was clearly Justo’s.
East Lampeter Township Police Department; pictured above is Justo’s red Kia
Justo was arrested and charged with misdemeanor false imprisonment and felony kidnapping.
Those charges also included criminal homicide as of December, after authorities determined Linda was no longer alive.
Today, authorities announced that they found the remains of a young woman that they believe to be Linda.
East Lampeter Township Police Department; pictured above is Justo in his mugshot
Exactly 10 months since Linda went missing, authorities uncovered these female’s remains on a property that’s located directly behind a place that Justo used to work.
“The remains were recovered on railroad property in a grave and wrapped in a tarp yesterday afternoon,” the Lancaster County District Attorney’s office said in a statement.
“Based on the discovery, the Lancaster County Coroner’s Office was called to the scene. The scene was forensically processed, and the remains were released to the Lancaster County Coroner for official identification and determination of cause and manner of death.”
“An autopsy has been scheduled for Friday, however, a preliminary review of the body by the Coroner’s Office indicates that the body was consistent with that of a female of relevant age and was found with a dress, bonnet and shoes consistent with clothing worn by Linda on the day of her disappearance.”
Authorities revealed that they believe Justo murdered Linda just hours after he kidnapped her, and that he “buried her behind the business on Harvest Drive in Ronks where Linda’s stockings and bra had previously been recovered.”
“Investigators have further reason to believe that Smoker subsequently moved Linda to the location behind his place of employment within several days after the homicide.”
Right now, Justo is behind bars awaiting trial.
