JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. – A judge denied bond Sunday for the 40-year-old woman who is being held in Orlando on a charge of second-degree murder after police found a body in her Jacksonville Beach apartment on Friday afternoon.
Marla D'Andrea was detained Friday night at Orlando International Airport several hours after the body of her mother Barbara D'Andrea, 67, was found and D'Andrea and her 7-year-old son were reported missing.
At about 4 p.m. police were called to investigate a suspicious death in an apartment at the corner of 10th Street North and First Avenue North, and then notified Florida Department of Law Enforcement that Marla D'Andrea and her son were missing.
About an hour and a half after FDLE issued a missing and endangered child alert, police said the child was found safe with Marla D'Andrea at OIA and they were taken into custody without incident. Overnight, Marla D'Andrea was booked into the Orange County Jail, held on a Duval County warrant for murder.
Marla D'Andrea's son was unharmed and in good health, police said. He was placed in the custody of the Department of Children and Family Services. Jacksonville Beach Police Detectives and DCF workers are attempting to make custody arrangements for him.
Court records show Marla D'Andrea had two previous arrests and she was Baker-acted in 2016 and her son was removed from the home. Neighbors said she had recently regained custody of the boy.
One Jacksonville Beach neighbor who wished to remain anonymous said yelling was heard in the apartment on Friday. Others said she was quiet and well-liked in the community.
"She had a lot of small dogs, like Chihuahuas. She was really friendly and nice when she did talk to me. That's why I can't believe this happened, especially right behind where I live at the beach," said one neighbor who didn't want to give a name. "I heard a couple of times some heated arguments. It was very occasional."
News4Jax spoke with Marla D'Andrea's aunt, Elizabeth Barry, who said she's devastated by the loss of her sister at the alleged hands of her niece.
"She had problems. I couldn’t deal with them," Barry said. "I couldn’t deal with them and I felt so bad for Barbara."
Barry said her sister came to the apartment every day to take care of her grandson.
"She was trying to protect the little boy," Barry said. "That’s the only reason why she was here."
D'Andrea is being held in Orlando without bond while she waits to be taken to Duval County.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Jacksonville Beach Police Department at 904-270-1661.