Nationwide search underway for suspect after Titusville woman found dead in Tennessee, police say

TITUSVILLE, Fla. — A nationwide manhunt is underway for a woman after a missing Titusville woman was found dead inside the trunk of the suspect’s vehicle in Tennessee, police said Wednesday evening.

Anna Primavere, 36, had been missing since last Friday. The body was discovered late Wednesday by officers in Lebanon, Tennessee, Titusville police said.

Police announced a nationwide manhunt for 27-year-old Courtney Gibson, who owned the vehicle where Primavere’s body was found. Gibson was last seen in Lebanon on Sunday. Police warn she “should be considered armed and dangerous.”

Gibson took off after police confronted her in Tennessee without a car or a cellphone. They say anyone helping her could also face charges.

According to police, Gibson was babysitting for Primavere’s landlord, Zongmu Wang. Investigators said they believe Gibson may have been confronted by Primavere about injuries she found on the child that Friday.

“Evidence shows the victim was violently killed inside the home right after getting home with the child,” Deputy Chief Todd Hutchinson said.

Investigators say sometime after that, Gibson took off and left the child home alone, and that Wang was out of town at the time.

She was captured on a Ring doorbell video driving away from the area early Saturday morning with a mattress on the roof of her car.

The mattress fell off her car and Gibson burned it on the side of the road, according to police. Primavere’s mattress was missing when police initially searched the home after family reported her missing.

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Wang was taken into custody when investigators say their child was covered in bruises and remains in Brevard County Jail.

Hutchinson said Gibson “is definitely a suspect in the injuries in the child.”

Police in Tennessee located Gibson at her parents’ house Sunday, but she refused to cooperate and would not let them search her vehicle, Titusville police said. A search warrant for the vehicle was obtained Wednesday.

Police said Primavere was “likely killed in a violent manner” in the home.

“Sadly, for everyone involved, this has ended in the worst-case scenario,” investigations Lt. Chris Deloach said in a news release.

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