12 years after woman vanished in Broward, her body has been found in Miami: cops

More than a decade after Trukita Scott vanished in Fort Lauderdale, her body was found buried in the backyard of a home in Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood, authorities announced Tuesday.

Scott was last seen in Fort Lauderdale on June 25, 2014. New details led investigators to her remains at a property on the 7500 block of Northeast First Court on May 12, authorities said during a news conference held on Tuesday by the Fort Lauderdale Police Department.

“It’s been a long 12 years, everyday thinking about her, trying to put together what this really means,” her father, Charles Scott, said during the conference.

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 was raised and had even gone on a ride-along with an officer shortly before she disappeared.

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, Charles Scott said. Her parents became concerned about foul play after she didn’t pick up her kids from daycare, police said.

Fort Lauderdale Police Lt. Robert Smith, who responded to Scott’s missing-person report, said “the compassion, the love” her family had for her stuck with him. He had a “gut feeling” that something was wrong that day.

“Something at that time just felt off,” Smith said of her disappearance.

Watts has long been suspected in her disappearance. Watts had been interviewed many times and maintained “he had nothing to do with it and did not know where she was,” Broward Sheriff’s Office Homicide Detective Steve Novak said.

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 a convicted killer after being arrested on murder charges linked to the 2022 slaying of his wife, Shandell Harris. He has also been linked to the disappearance of 25-year-old Vickie Simmons, who vanished in 2009.

READ MORE: Three South Florida victims tied to JCC shooter Carl Watts. All were working moms.

Many details of the case — the cause of death, whether there were multiple people involved or if Watts will be charged — remain unclear.

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 along Interstate 95. The car had been set on fire to destroy evidence, which was information kept from the public until recently, Novak said.

A credible witness came forward about six months later and provided information that, at the time, was only known to law enforcement, Novak said, including that her car was set on fire, and she was last with Watts at a Budget Inn in Fort Lauderdale. The witness reported her body was buried in the Little Haiti area, but authorities were unable to locate her there in the months after she went missing.

Wanted for questioning, Watts surrendered to authorities in 2014 on an outstanding federal arrest warrant. He maintained he was not involved, police said.

But Watts made an admission regarding his involvement in her disappearance during a court proceeding that took place during the past month, Novak said. He declined to elaborate on what those statements were, but Watts provided the location of her body. She might have never been found without this information, police said.

Through dental records, authorities were able to identify her body, police said.

While Watts is a person of interest in Scott’s disappearance, he was not facing charges in connection with the case as of Tuesday, police said. Any decisions about prosecution in this case will be determined by the Attorney General's Office of Statewide Prosecution.

Nothing can undo the pain that her relatives have endured, but they finally have some answers “and can begin closing this chapter of this story,” Novak said.

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.

Watts was being held Tuesday at the Broward Main Jail in Fort Lauderdale, police said. He was taken out of state prison to be nearby while authorities are investigating this case.

Charles Scott urged parents to stay in their kids’ lives, pay attention and recognize the signs of a situation that has gone or is going wrong.

“So you’ll never have to go through what we’re going through,” he said.

Miami Herald Staff Writer Grethel Aguila contributed to this report.

This story was originally published May 19, 2026 at 12:46 PM.