LAKE CITY, Fla. – More than a month after a 43-year-old Lake City mother of two was found dead in a car, questions linger about what happened.
Family members believe Veronica Witcher believe she was murdered. The Columbia County Sheriff's Office has described her death as suspicious. Deputies said the first autopsy was inconclusive on the cause of death, and they are waiting for the results of toxicology testing from the second autopsy.
Deputies said Witcher was last seen Jan. 30 and was reported missing in early February. About a month later, Witcher's boyfriend found her body in the back seat of her car, which had been parked near his home.
The Sheriff's Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement searched and processed the scene and Witcher's car. They haven't released many details, but said the car was filled with clothes and personal items.
"Since I found out about this, I've cried every day," said Witcher's estranged husband, Lemar Christian. "From what I've been told, she cannot have done that herself. She cannot have crawled in the car under those clothes and debris by herself. Somebody did that. Why would they just leave the car running with the keys in it? Somebody did that."
Christian said the more he heard, the more he knew in his heart something was very wrong.
"They want to say she had a high-risk lifestyle, things like that, but Veronica was a human being. She was a mother, and she had a job," Christian said.
Witcher's father, Andrew Witcher, said his daughter had endured some struggles in her past, but was moving forward and making a change.
He also believes someone hurt his daughter.
"She was a caring person. She cared about everybody," Andrew Witcher said. "That was basically one of her downfalls because she trusted everybody."
Veronica Witcher's funeral is scheduled for Saturday. She leaves behind one adult son and a young daughter.
Friends and family have created a GoFundMe account to help pay for funeral expenses, plus care for Witcher's young daughter.