Gary man found guilty in 2019 kidnapping and murder of ex-girlfriend, Chicago Heights mother of 6

LAKE COUNTY, Ind. (WLS) -- A jury on Friday found an Indiana man guilty of murdering his ex-girlfriend, of Chicago Heights, in 2019.

Drew Carter III is accused of fatally shooting 36-year-old Jessica Flores, a mother of six who went missing in February 2019. Her remains were later found in a wooded area in Gary.

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Carter's conviction comes after a judge granted a motion to dismiss the murder case against him in September 2019. He remained in custody on a separate firearms charge stemming from his arrest, and prosecutors refiled murder charges in October 2022.

But Carter was released on bond in 2023 because, under Indiana law, if a case isn't brought to trial within 180 days, the defendant has a right to be released while they wait.

Now, he faces up to life in prison after being found guilty of murder, kidnapping while armed with a deadly weapon, criminal confinement while armed with a deadly weapon and criminal confinement with bodily injury.

Carter's sentencing is set for July 17 in Lake County, Indiana.