Left: Jessie Kirk (Children’s Advocacy Center of Brevard). Right: David Barber (Titusville Police Department).
A Florida woman rushed to the condominium complex of her aunt who had been reported missing and saw a vehicle in the parking lot that made an already unsettling situation even scarier.
It was an SUV that belonged to her former boyfriend, 35-year-old David Barber, whom she had previously filed a restraining order against, reportedly saying she felt as if he was going to take “her to an unsafe location and attack or kill me.” The revelation made Titusville police deem the missing person case of 72-year-old Jessie Kirk “highly suspicious.”
More from Law&Crime: ‘They just said I suffocated’: Chatty murder suspect accused of chopping up teen he lured on dating app questions judge about co-defendant
Kirk’s Lincoln Navigator also was missing. About an hour after Kirk’s reported disappearance, around 9:30 a.m. on March 4, firefighters in nearby Orange County responded to a vehicle fire. Officials confirmed the burned SUV belonged to Kirk. A witness also said she saw a man walking away from the burning vehicle, holding his arm, a probable cause arrest affidavit said.
Then around 12:20 p.m. the same day, cops spotted Barber “loitering” across the street from Kirk’s condo complex. He “appeared to be attempting to avoid law enforcement,” the affidavit said. He also had fresh burns on his right arm. After officers confronted him, Barber could not give a valid reason for being in the area. When cops asked why he seemed to be trying to avoid them, he allegedly responded “I don’t feel I should answer that at this time.”
Witnesses and street cameras placed Barber in Kirk’s SUV and cops arrested him for grand theft auto and loitering and prowling.
Officials then received a call around 2:45 p.m. on March 4 — some six hours after Kirk’s reported disappearance — about the burned discovery of human remains. A medical examiner positively identified the body as Kirk.
As of Monday morning, Barber has yet to be charged with murder. Kirk’s niece’s attorney Roger Hornsby told local NBC affiliate WESH his client filed for a restraining order against Barber after he allegedly began stalking her. He reportedly showed up her old apartment and even went through her garbage.
“It’s your classic fatal attraction, if you will,” Hornsby told WESH.
Hornsby opined that Barber may have been going around to different locations where he thought he could find his ex-girlfriend. That may have led him to Kirk’s condo, according to Hornsby.
“I suspect what happened is that Ms. Kirk discovered him, and an altercation ensued,” Hornsby said.
Hornsby said Kirk’s niece feels “at fault” for her aunt’s death.
“It happened to her aunt. She’s devastated that her aunt’s children have lost their mother,” he said.
Kirk was well respected in her community. She received a “Humanitarian of the Year” from the Navy League and served on the board of the Children’s Advocacy Center of Brevard since 2008.
“Her commitment was to help ensure children overcome the trauma of abuse and move forward on a path of healing and hope toward a brighter future. She was a vibrant, caring, and generous woman,” the center said in a tribute posted to Facebook.
Barber worked as a corrections deputy with the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office from 2018 to 2022. He left on his own volition and had no disciplinary history. He was arrested in December for allegedly trying to break into Kirk’s niece’s old apartment, according to records. That case remains ongoing. The alleged restraining order for stalking remains pending, court records show.
Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.
