WARWICK, RI – More than two years after Charlotte Lester vanished, authorities have arrested Mark Perkins, 64, for her murder. His apprehension was made possible through GPS data linking his movements to the location where Lester’s remains were discovered.

Lester was reported missing on May 16, 2022, by her landlord. Initially, despite police suspicions about Perkins, they lacked evidence to detain him. His arrest followed the discovery of Lester’s skeletal remains on Nov. 17, identified via dental records.

Documents from the court elaborate on the investigation, which included statements from a convenience store witness. This witness observed Perkins with injuries soon after Lester’s disappearance, including blood on his hands and scratches on his arms. The witness recounted Perkins admitting to a physically violent encounter, describing his home as a “blood bath” and confessing, “I think I killed her.”

When police interviewed Perkins on May 20, 2022, he appeared indifferent to Lester’s disappearance, claiming they had stopped communicating and he was unaware of her whereabouts. Investigators, however, found blood evidence throughout Perkins’ home. DNA analysis suggested potential matches to both Perkins and Lester, specifically comparing it against her mother’s DNA profile.

Further scrutiny of Perkins’ actions on the night Lester was last seen alive revealed he trailed her to another man’s residence. Texts from that evening indicated Perkins urging her to leave and return home. On May 18, security footage captured Perkins driving away in his truck with an unknown object, only to return hours later sans cargo.

A pivotal turn in the case followed when Lester’s skull was located, prompting a focused review of Perkins’ truck’s GPS data. This data indicated Perkins frequented the area near the discovery site multiple times, specifically in July and October 2022. His whereabouts placed him within mere feet of the location where law enforcement eventually found Lester’s remains.

Before the murder charge, Perkins had faced legal troubles, including an incident in August 2022 in which he threatened a local broadcaster with a lawn mower amidst queries about Lester’s disappearance.

Perkins was arraigned in Kent County District Court, facing charges of first-degree murder. Currently, he remains in custody, held without the possibility of bail, and has yet to enter a plea.