Missing Man Found Dead In Car Trunk After Being Murdered By Ex, Her New Boyfriend

A man who was reported missing has been found dead inside the trunk of his car on Friday, March 18, after allegedly being murdered by his ex-girlfriend and her new beau in Orange County, Florida.

The body of Melvin Ray Wilcox, 39, who was first reported missing on Tuesday, March 15, was discovered on Friday night, March 18, inside the trunk of his own car after Orange County police officers found the victim's abandoned Civic parked in the lot of a pharmacy near Pine Hills Road and North Lane, Law & Crime reported.

Following the gruesome discovery, Lashawn Triplett, 43, who is the mother of Wilcox's child, and Johnny Wesley, 42, his friend, were both charged with first-degree murder with a firearm in connection with the victim's death.

Officers started investigating the incident after Wilcox's mother reported that her son was missing and that his car was stolen. On March 15, Wilcox reportedly left home telling her that he was going to see a friend.

However, when he did not return later that day, Wilcox's mother contacted the pal her child was heading out to see. The friend subsequently told her that Wilcox never arrived. Later, when she reached Wesley, he allegedly told her that Wilcox arrived at his home, got into a fight with him but left in his car, WFTV Channel 9 reported.

According to Orange County officials, Wilcox ran into both Triplett and Wesley together at the Central Florida Fair on March 13. However, since Wesley never informed Wilcox about him dating Triplett, the men reportedly got into an argument.

After the officers obtained CCTV surveillance footage from Wesley's home, they found Wilcox entering the residence at around 2 a.m. on Tuesday, March 15. However, he was not seen leaving the house.

Wilcox's Honda Civic was later seen backed up to the door of the home while all of the lights in the residence were turned off. A man was later seen driving away in the car. However, the officers were not able to recognize from the video who the driver was. An hour later, Wesley was seen walking back home, putting two large trash bags into his own vehicle, driving away, and then returning back home in 15 minutes.

From the surveillance video, investigators believe that Wilcox was likely shot at the home, and his body was moved away in the vehicle. When a search warrant was served at Wesley's residence, the authorities reportedly found bullet holes, remnants of blood, and a 9mm shell casing.

Wilcox was later found on Friday inside the trunk of his car. He was shot in the head and twice in the area of his shoulder and neck.

Following the incident, Wesley and Triplett made their first court appearances on Sunday afternoon. They were given no bond and are locked up at the Orange County Jail as of Sunday, March 20.