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A Milton man has been charged with murder after he allegedly killed a woman with a hatchet and buried her body in his backyard.
Johnny Edwards Malisham, 60, was arrested Sunday after Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office investigators worked with University of West Florida anthropologists to unearth the woman's body from below a backyard burn pit.
SRSO spokesman Sgt. Rich Aloy told the News Journal that authorities believe the body is Cynthia Hoover, a 60-year-old Milton woman who went missing in March.
"All indications are leading us to believe it is most likely Cynthia Hoover," Aloy said. "But positive identification has not been done by the medical examiner."