GREENVILLE, S.C. (WSPA) – The Greenville Police Department said Thursday a man is charged with murder after his fiancé went missing and was found dead in April 2021.

Police said on March 16, 2020, the family of Brittany Michelle Davis contacted the Greenville Police Department to report her missing.

After learning that Davis had been living on McDaniel Avenue with her fiancé, Michael Lee Wilkerson, at the time of her disappearance, detectives uncovered evidence suggesting that Davis was deceased and likely a victim of foul play.

According to the police department, human remains were found in a wooded area in northeast Georgia in April 2021. DNA testing confirmed that they belong to Davis. While it is believed that Davis died on or about February 12, 2020, the cause of death has not been determined.

Based on evidence obtained during the investigation, detectives had probable cause to charge Michael Lee Wilkerson with the murder of Brittany Michelle Davis.

On Tuesday, with the assistance of the US Marshal’s Task Force, the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office and the Gwinnett County Police Department, Wilkerson was taken into custody during a traffic stop in Buford, GA.

Wilkerson is currently being held at the Gwinnett County jail and is awaiting extradition back to Greenville.

Friends of Davis described her as a beautiful soul with a good heart.

“Brittany was a shining light and for her to die like this it’s just heartbreaking,” said former coworker, Brian Paiz.

He said the hardest part was living day to day in the unknown.

“People pass away of cancer or they pass away in a car wreck or something like that. You can kind of know what it was,” Paiz explained. “But to not know where she was and how she passed away, I think that was the biggest thing that really just hurt everybody.”

Paiz said as the months passed his hope of seeing her again dwindled.

“The story was she had gotten a plane ticket booked to Puerto Rico,” Paiz said. “And I knew she loved Puerto Rico because me and her spoke about that, but she never got on the flight.”

But shed a sigh of relief that she can now will be put to rest peacefully.

“It’s sad and you’re kind of sick to your stomach,” Paiz said. “But I will say this… I’m glad that her mom who is such a sweet person and her brothers got some closure.”