The former high school assistant principal accused of killing Kameela Russell, a single mother from Miami Gardens whose body was found in a canal, faced a Miami-Dade County judge on Friday.
Detectives previously arrested 39-year-old Ernest Joseph Roberts on a first-degree murder charge, according to an arrest warrant.
Roberts, who once worked at Miami Norland Senior High School with Russell, had been transferred to Linda Lentin K-8 Center about seven months before her disappearance, the warrant said.
Two days after Russell's disappearance on May 15, detectives received several anonymous phone calls suggesting Roberts may be involved, the warrant said. Russell and Roberts have known each other since they were children and Roberts is the godfather of Russell's two daughters, the warrant said.
According to the warrant, detectives found drops of blood at Roberts' mother's home by the front door and in the master bedroom. Bloody sandals were also found in the master bathroom, and an Amazon box with blood splatter was also found, the report said.
The medical examiner's office said the death has been ruled a homicide as a result of blunt force to the head.
The warrant said surveillance cameras from across the street showed Roberts and Russell at Roberts' mother's home the evening of her disappearance.
