ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- A man who waited six hours to call authorities to say his wife disappeared in the ocean Nov. 8 was arrested Tuesday morning on charges of first-degree murder.

Accompanied by his attorney, Benjamin Lightsey Jr. turned himself in at the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office about 10 a.m.

Melissa Lightsey's body was found off in the St. Augustine Inlet Nov. 9 after a search initiated when her husband said she disappeared while swimming at Vilano Beach.

Deputies said Ben Lightsey reported her missing at 6 a.m., telling investigators that his wife went swimming near Surfside Park about midnight after the couple had attended a wedding reception that night. He said he searched for a time by himself, went to a relative's house and returned to continue the search.

The body was found about 3 p.m. that day. The medical examiner later ruled that Melissa Lightsey died of trauma to the head, face and neck, not drowning.

"Everybody loved her. She was the sweetest person. I named her Sweet Melissa after the song," said Melissa Lightsey's mother, Melinda Bryan. "She was the sweetest person I ever knew."

Deputies arrived at Ben Lightsey's home before dawn Tuesday to make the arrest, but he was not home. Accompanied by his attorney, Lightsey turned himself in about 10 a.m.

"I hate to say it, but I suspected him all along," the victim's stepfather, Jim Bryan, told Channel 4 outside the jail. "The story just didn't jive with what did happen. What can you think? He was the last person to see her alive."

He said he believes his stepdaughter told her husband she was finished with their relationship on the night she was killed.

"She, basically, had told a couple of her friends that she was ready to leave him and that she was getting ready to give him an ultimatum. That's probably what happened that night," Jim Bryan said.

Melissa Lightsey, who was 36, leaves behind two young children -- 3-year-old Sonny Lee and Zane, who is almost 2. Bryan said they would begin proceedings to get custody of the children.

Investigators learned the couple attended a wedding and reception Saturday in the hours before she disappeared. Witnesses said the two had an argument at the reception.

Detectives have impounded three vehicles and served several search warrants before obtaining the arrest warrant for Lightsey late Monday.

Asked why it took more than a week to charge the husband, St. Johns County Sheriff David Shoar said they wanted to make sure they got it right.

"A young woman was brutally murdered a week ago in our county, leaving two children as orphans," Shoar said. "There's no case more important to law enforcement than a case like this, so we want to be very careful, we want to be diligent, we want to be methodical and we want to be thorough."

Lightsey, 30, was booked into the St. Johns County Jail and was being held without bond pending a first-appearance hearing set for Wednesday morning.

Ben Lightsey is the son of Glenn Lightsey, a former sergeant with the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office who ran for sheriff in 2004.

Neighbors of the home Melissa and Ben Lightsey shared told Channel 4 that she was a great mother. A friend who hosted the third birthday party for Sonny Lightsey three weeks ago was devastated.

"It just breaks my heart," Deana Welsh said. "I just really hope the best for the kids. They're losing a mother and a father."

Shoar said investigators would still like to talk with anyone who saw Ben or Melissa Lightsey the evening of Nov. 8. Detectives ask that anyone with information call the sheriff's office at 904-824-8304.