Missing pregnant 19-year-old found dead; suspect in custody

HEADLAND, Ala. (WTVY/Gray News) – A 19-year-old missing pregnant woman from Florida was found dead in Alabama early Wednesday morning.

According to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, the body of Anastasia Gilley was discovered at about 2 a.m. on an unpaved road near Headland, Alabama.

Officials said Gilley was from Greenwood, Florida, a panhandle town located about 40 miles south of where her body was found.

Officials have arrested 33-year-old Marquis Devan McCloud in the case. He is being charged in Alabama with capital murder and kidnapping.

Deputies said McCloud has been uncooperative thought the investigation. It’s unclear whether McCloud knew Gilley.

Gilley was reported to have been shot in the back multiple times. An autopsy will determine an official cause of death.

Gilley was last seen May 3 at her Florida home. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office said she was four months pregnant.

Earlier this week, her family and friends pleaded with the public to help them find her.

According to court records obtained by WTVY, McCloud has a lengthy criminal history of violence and has previously spent time in prison.

In 2010, he was convicted of rape and sentenced to eight years in prison. It’s unclear when he was released, but records show he received a speeding ticket in 2013.

In 2015, he faced another rape charge in Quitman County, Georgia.

In 2017, he was arrested on another rape charge that a grand jury dismissed.

In 2021, he was back in custody and charged with aggravated battery in a case involving a man whose throat was cut. Those cases appear to be pending in Dougherty County court.

McCloud’s other arrests, according to records, include violating sex offender registration laws, making terror threats, robbery, and criminal mischief.

McCloud’s criminal records track back to 2008 when he was a teen.

The Department of Human Resources has taken McCloud to court seeking child support for two children, born in 2014 and 2018.

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