Broward deputies search Intracoastal for woman’s body as husband faces murder charge
The body of a woman believed to have been killed by her husband could have been dumped in the Intracoastal Waterway in northern Broward County, according to authorities. It could be anywhere from the Hillsboro Inlet to the 14th Street Causeway in Pompano Beach, deputies said Tuesday during a news conference at the Broward Sheriff’s Office’s public safety building in Fort Lauderdale.
Ian Andrew Lanning, 54, was arrested Saturday after detectives found evidence that suggests his wife, Irene Lanning Xeniti, 53, was slain in the couple’s South Florida home before his vehicle was used to move her body to an unknown location.
Lanning is behind bars facing a count of first-degree murder as detectives search for his wife’s body. At the news conference, Sgt. Kevin Forsberg said that he is confident that Lanning Xeniti is deceased even though authorities do not know exactly how she was killed.
“I can tell you that there was an extensive amount of evidence in that house, and it paints a very gruesome picture,” Forsberg said. “There is a lot of forensic evidence that we could see inside the house [that] indicated an attempted cleanup.”
The daughter of Lanning Xeniti reported her missing late last month, leading detectives to visit the couple’s home in Pompano Beach. Lanning told investigators that his wife had left home after they had a verbal dispute on May 14 and that she had not returned since then, the sheriff’s office said Sunday in a news release.
However, authorities said his story began to unravel once detectives obtained information indicating the couple had been traveling in the same area on May 20. They also determined Lanning Xeniti’s phone was “in the vicinity” of their home at 1 a.m. the following day.
Investigators believe Lanning Xeniti was killed on May 21, according to news reports.
On June 8, authorities executed a search warrant at the couple’s residence in addition to one for Lanning’s vehicle — where they uncovered evidence indicating that Lanning Xeniti was killed in the home and that her body was disposed of elsewhere, according to the news release.
The sheriff’s office didn’t say what type of evidence its investigators found at the scene.
Attorney information for Lanning wasn’t available as of Tuesday night.
Detectives are asking anyone with information about this case to contact BSO Homicide Det. Ryan Schnakenberg at 954-321-4200. To remain anonymous,people can contact Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS (8477), online at browardcrimestoppers.org or dial **TIPS (8477) from any cellphone in the United States.
This story was originally published June 12, 2022 at 3:06 PM.
