Ben Lightsey Arrested on Murder Charge in Wife's Death

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, FL -- Ben Lightsey is expected to make his first appearance in court Wednesday morning. It will be just 24 hours after surrendering to authorities who have charged him with the murder of his wife, Melissa.

The attorney who Lightsey hired Monday night told First Coast News that he woke up Tuesday morning to learn there was a warrant for his client's arrest. He says he found Ben, and told him to turn himself in. The attorney says Ben has done everything he's asked him to.

Lightsey is being held on no bond at the St. Johns County Jail, on first-degree murder charges. The state attorney's office says it has 21 days to put the case before a grand jury to decide on formal charges.

About 6:00 Tuesday morning, investigators -- with an arrest warrant in hand -- went to arrest Ben Lightsey at his father's house in St. Augustine.

However, Ben Lightsey was not there.

"He had been staying off and on at his father's house," Sgt. Chuck Mulligan with the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office said. "We believed he'd be there this morning, so we went there early before the family got up and moving about their daily business. Unfortunately, Benjamin was not there."

Deputies then searched the county.

Later, St. Johns County Sheriff David Shoar said, "This morning about 9 a.m., Ben's attorney called me personally and turned Ben into me."

Deputies say Ben Lightsey walked into the Sheriff's Office with this attorney around 10 a.m.

Lightsey did not answer any questions as deputies walked him to the county jail.

Ben Lightsey initially told deputies he last saw his wife swimming in chest-deep water around midnight on the morning of November 9th near Surfside Park after a wedding reception.

Investigators say Lightsey told detectives that night he went into the cold ocean to bring his wife back to shore but she refused. He then told detectives he thought he may have passed out for a short time before waking up at 12:30 a.m. when he began to search for his wife. Lightsey said he then went to a relatives home to get help. He and his relatives returned to search for his wife.

Investigators seized three vehicles as evidence in the case. Shoar said one is Ben Lightsey's, one belongs to his father, Glenn, a former deputy and onetime candidate for Sheriff, and the other belongs to another family member.

A couple of homes have also been searched for evidence.

"What we're looking for is to see if anybody in fact was involved before we got involved or even after we got involved," Shoar said.

Since Melissa Lightsey's disappearance, her parents say their 2 young grandchildren have been with Ben Lightsey, and they say they're disappointed they've only seen their grandchildren once since learning of her death. Melissa's stepfather says he is not ruling out going to court to see them.

[READ MORE ABOUT MELISSA LIGHTSEY'S DEATH]

Mark Myers' apartment is right next to the beach and right next to Surfside Park.

He told First Coast News, "Around 7:30 Sunday morning sheriff's knocked on my door, asked if I had heard or seen anything. I hadn't heard or seen nothing, and I had my windows open all night. I didn't hear a thing."

After that, Myers said he helped deputies search for 36-year-old Melissa Lightsey.

"They asked me if I'd get in my jeep and help them by going up and down the beach and look," Myers said. "I did that and again, I saw nothing."

Melissa Lightsey's body was found in the afternoon on November 9th, just south of Surfside Park in the St. Augustine Inlet.

The medical examiner said Lightsey did not drown, but died from trauma to the head, neck, and face.

Myers said investigators have gone though trash cans and dumpsters at his apartment complex and at the park.

The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office says homicide detectives are looking at any possible subjects involved in the homicide after the fact.

Anyone who may have been in contact with the couple a week ago Saturday night is being asked to call the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office at (904) 824-8304.

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