Created: 3/26/2007 3:11:25 PM 
HOUSTON, TX -- Houston police have called off the search for a missing Texas A&M student after a gruesome discovery at her former boyfriend's home.
They say forensic evidence confirms that Tynesha Stewart's body was cremated by ex-boyfriend Tim Shepherd using an outdoor grill.
Tim Shepherd has been charged with murder and is being held on a $250,000 bond. Shepherd told police he became angry and killed Stewart because she had started a new relationship.
Shepherd had already confessed to killing Stewart and originally told police he dumped her body in a dumpster.
Harris County Sheriff Tommy Thomas says that was a lie.
Members of Texas Equusearch, a search and recovery organization, had planned to conduct their own search for Tynesha Stewart's body after Shepherd's original confession, but now say they will focus on supporting her family instead.
Tension had arisen between Stewart's family and police after Shepherd's original confession. The family had wanted a search of several Houston area landfills in hopes of finding Tynesha's body. The Sheriff's office had decided not to start such a search based on facts uncovered during their investigation, but say they could not tell the family why the landfills weren't being searched until they were sure her body had been burned.
Sheriff Thomas says he has since spoken with the family and they now understand why the search never started.
Related article:
Sheriff: Slain Student Burned on Grill ©2009 NBCNC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten, or redistributed.
