From Tribune staff reports
St. CLAIR COUNTY–Maxwell Allen St. John, 35, was charged on Monday with the murder of Kyla Elaine Bobo, according to the St. Clair County Sheriff.
Bobo, who was from the Moody area, was last seen on Jan. 30, 2022 in Chula Vista.
Her family contacted the sheriff’s office in February 2022 to report her disappearance.
After an extensive search, skeletal remains were located in a wooded area near Pell City in November 2023.
According to the sheriff’s office, the remains were processed for DNA testing by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences and in February 2024 preliminary results identified them as belonging to Bobo.
St. John, who was serving an 11-year sentence for rape in a separate case, was later charged with one count of felony murder and one count of abuse of a corpse and extradited from Bullock Correctional Facility.
“I would like to give a special thanks to the St. Clair County Drug Enforcement Unit for their hard work and tireless efforts to bring this case to where we are today,” Sheriff Billy J. Murray wrote.
“I would like to say thank you to the family of Kyla who assisted law enforcement in remarkable ways to bring this case to a successful conclusion.”