New details released in death of pregnant Jackson County woman

HOUSTON COUNTY, Ala. (WJHG/WECP) - One day after the body of what is believed to be a missing Jackson County 19-year-old was found in Alabama, the Houston County Sheriff is speaking out.

Sheriff Donald Valenza said the body was found in an area off Headland Avenue in Headland, Alabama early Wednesday morning. The body was badly decomposed. Sheriff Valenza said they believe it’s Anastasia Gilley based on clothing and jewelry found. According to family, Gilley was 4 months pregnant and had been missing since last Wednesday.

An Alabama man, 33-year-old Marquis McCloud, has been arrested and charged with capital murder during kidnapping and is being held without bond. This charge could carry the death penalty. Court records show McCloud has a long criminal history.

Sheriff Valenza said they are currently waiting on the results of the autopsy to determine the cause of death. He says McCloud was an acquaintance of Gilley, but they believe she was being held against her will. He also said McCloud could face additional charges depending on how far along Gilley’s pregnancy was at the time of her death.

According to the sheriff, there are a lot of false stories circulating on social media.

He stressed, “We will give exactly what we have when we collect more forensic evidence from the lab, but I’m asking you please, right now, do not just keep adding false stories to social media.” He went on to say, ”We will let you know what the real facts are. Don’t base them off what you see on social media. None of those people on social media were ever involved in this investigation, and they were not there when we recovered this body the other morning.”

NewsChannel 7 will continue to follow developments in this story.

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