A missing-person case in Bay County ended with a murder charge, a confession and human remains found in freshly disturbed soil, according to investigators.

FOUNTAIN, Fla. — A 32-year-old Florida woman is accused of killing her boyfriend, trying to cut up his body in a bathtub and burying his remains in the yard of the home they shared after relatives reported him missing, authorities said.

Authorities say the case moved from a welfare concern to a homicide investigation within days after Joseph Martin Eiler, 38, missed work and could not be reached. Ashley Otero Averett was arrested March 17 and charged with first-degree premeditated murder. Investigators say the immediate stakes were plain: recover Eiler, secure the property and determine whether two young children living at the home were safe.

The investigation began March 14, when Eiler’s father told deputies he had not seen his son since the early hours of March 12 at the family property on Creek Haven Road in Fountain. According to investigators, the father said he heard Averett and Eiler arguing around 4 a.m. and later heard his son cry out. He told deputies he then saw Eiler washing his face and saying Averett had struck him with a flashlight. Later that morning, the father reported hearing what he believed were gunshots from the residence. When Eiler did not report for two straight work shifts, concern grew into a missing-person report.

Deputies first heard from Averett that Eiler had left with an unknown friend after the couple argued, according to the probable cause account cited in news reports. But the case shifted again on March 16, when Eiler’s father called deputies back and described activity he found troubling. He told them Averett had lit a fire in the firepit, asked what to do with ashes and blocked him from entering parts of the home. Once inside, he said he noticed the bedding was gone, laundry was running repeatedly, a firearm sat on top of a safe and fresh dirt had appeared in the yard. He also said he sifted through ashes and found what looked like trigger locks.

Investigators then spoke with a family member who, according to the affidavit, said Averett had admitted killing Eiler. In a post-Miranda interview, deputies say, Averett confessed to shooting Eiler twice in the back with a .380-caliber pistol while he slept. Authorities said she told them she then tried to remove his limbs in the bathtub with a hatchet and a knife, placed the body and body parts into a gray tote and buried them in several locations in the yard. Deputies later executed a search warrant and reported finding human remains in freshly disturbed soil consistent with the areas described during the investigation. Authorities also said Averett bought cleaning supplies from multiple stores in an effort to scrub away evidence.

The case drew added attention because the alleged crime scene was a shared family property, not an isolated site. Eiler’s father lived there, according to investigators, and two small children were also at the residence. Bay County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Jason Daffin told WMBB that relatives who contacted authorities were trying to protect the children, not help Averett avoid arrest. One of the children was reportedly Eiler’s. The living arrangement, together with the father’s account of hearing an argument and possible gunshots, gave investigators a timeline rooted in what people on the property said they heard and saw.

Averett was booked into the Bay County Jail and was being held without bond in follow-up reports after her arrest. Public reporting at the time did not identify a return-court date, and investigators said the case remained active as they continued processing evidence from the house and yard. The murder charge means prosecutors will now build the case around the alleged confession, witness statements, physical evidence recovered from the property and any forensic results tied to the firearm, cleaning materials and remains.

By the time deputies dug in the yard, the case had already narrowed from uncertainty to a grim search focused on one property. The final public details released in the first wave of reporting were stark: the remains were found where relatives had pointed investigators, the home was treated as a crime scene and the next milestone was a court appearance that had not yet been scheduled publicly.

Author note: Last updated April 9, 2026.