Over a decade after woman vanished in Broward, police say her body was found

More than a decade after Trukita Scott vanished in Fort Lauderdale, her body has been found, the Fort Lauderdale Police Department announced Tuesday.

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Scott was last seen in Fort Lauderdale on June 25, 2014.

The 24-year-old mother of two grew up in Miami Gardens and worked two jobs — at U-Haul and as a home health worker for mentally challenged adults — the Miami Herald reported in 2022.

Scott dreamed of becoming a police officer in the city where she grew up and had even gone on a ride-along with an officer shortly before she disappeared.

According to her family, the day she went missing, she was supposed to meet with her ex-boyfriend, Carl Watts — the father of her son, C.J. — in Miami to pick up child-support money, her father, Charles Scott, said.

Watts has long been suspected in her disappearance.

According to Charles Scott, Watts told the family they met up that day and that Scott later left. He denied having any involvement in her disappearance.

Watts, 49, is now a convicted killer after being arrested on murder charges linked to the 2022 slaying of his wife, Shandell Harris.

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He has also been linked to the disappearance of 25-year-old Vickie Simmons, who vanished in 2009.

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Six days after Scott disappeared and was classified as a “missing endangered person,” Miami police found her 2007 Nissan Altima near Northwest 40th Street and 10th Avenue.

Wanted for questioning, Watts later surrendered to authorities on an outstanding federal arrest warrant. However, he was never arrested in connection with Scott’s disappearance but remained a person of interest.

A convicted murderer

On April 3, 2022, Shandell Harris was at the Michael-Ann Russell Jewish Community Center in northeast Miami-Dade with her mother for her daughter’s swim class.

Watts showed up and offered Harris money to drop the charges against him for stabbing her the day before. She refused to take the money and told Watts to leave, but he pulled out a gun and shot her multiple times, according to his 2022 arrest affidavit.

Even as Harris lay on the ground, Watts stood over her and fired at her until he ran out of cartridges.

Watts ran but was detained at gunpoint by private security.

Court records show that Watts was convicted of his wife’s murder and sentenced to 45 years for first-degree murder after taking a plea deal. He was also convicted of tampering with physical evidence.

The Fort Lauderdale Police Department will be holding a press conference at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, when they are expected to provide updates on the homicide investigation. Scott’s family will be at the press conference.

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Miami Herald Staff Writer Grethel Aguila contributed to this report.