A South Florida man indicted on murder charges in the 1994 disappearance of his ex-wife was ordered held without bond Thursday.
Clifford Brett Friend, 56, was indicted on a first-degree murder charge by the Miami-Dade County grand jury nearly 18 years after ex-wife Lynn Friend went missing, according to the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office.
Friend was booked into jail Wednesday night and made his first appearance in Miami-Dade court where he was ordered held without bond.
Friend's attorney, Peter Heller, said his client is innocent and that he intends to vigorously defend the case.
"I don't know what they have that's new, this is a case that been before the grand jury several times, but we're certainly eager to get started and get to the bottom of this," Heller said Thursday outside court. "I'm not aware of any new evidence."
According to the State Attorney's Office, Lynn Friend disappeared on August 28, 1994, shortly after winning a contentious custody battle with her ex-husband over their son, Christian.
Lynn Friend, 35 years old at the time of her disappearance, was planning to relocate out of Florida with Christian, and Clifford Friend had fought the move and vowed to stop it, the State Attorney's Office said.
During the lengthy investigation, authorities discovered Friend and an associate were seen dropping a large package from a boat in the Atlantic, the State Attorney's Office said.
Lynn Friend's body was never found. State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle expressed confidence Thursday that one is not necessary for a successful prosecution, however.
“We have done bodyless cases before, and we have been very successful. You don’t always need a body in a case," she said. “Eventually, all the evidence, the circumstantial evidence that we have in this case, will become public."
Rundle said that using circumstantial evidence, Miami-Dade Police, Hallandale Police and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement were able to put the dots together as they investigated.
She said significant evidence will be made public soon in a special sort of court hearing that is held someone who has been indicted by a grand jury.
