Murder Charges Dropped In Missing South Chicago Heights Mom Case

SOUTH CHICAGO HEIGHTS, IL — Murder charges against an Indiana man accused of killing Jessica Flores of South Chicago Heights have been dismissed.

A Lake County, Indiana, judge dismissed the charges Monday against Drew "Tiny" Carter III, 41, the Northwest Times of Indiana reported. He remains in custody on a $100,000 surety or $10,000 cash bond on related gun charges, the newspaper reported. Those charges against Carter, a felon, allege he had two guns in his car when he was arrested for the murder of Flores.

Carter, of Gary, was charged earlier this year with murder in connection with the disappearance of Flores, 36. She was reported missing Feb. 25, along with Melina Cottrell, 26, also of Gary. Cottrell has since been found safe, according the Northwest Times.

Details that were released after Carter's arrest show that the disappearance of Flores is a complicated case that may have left one other dead person in its wake.

According to the Daily Southtown, an unidentified witness left with Flores when she was last seen alive to go to a bar in Gary and visit a man named "Tiny." Tiny and Flores argued, the paper said, in part because a woman Tiny was expecting had not arrived. Tiny then persuaded Flores and the witness to leave to get cocaine with him.

They continued to argue while they picked up drugs, records showed, and when they went back to the house where they had met, they could not get in. Tiny was angry that the other woman still had not arrived. The Southtown reported that at one point, Tiny made Flores get in the back seat of the car, and while he was driving, he would often stop the car as they continued to argue. During one of the stops, he asked Flores if he could have sex with the witness. When she said no, he pulled out a revolver, turned around, and shot Flores, records show.

Authorities later found the car badly burned and with a large amount of blood in the back seat. The body of Flores was never found.

Prosecutors tried to continue the murder case against Carter to buy more time for evidence to be processed, the Northwest Times said. The items are still being tested, so prosecutors filed to dismiss charges. The judge dismissed the case Monday without prejudice, which permits prosecutors to re-file charges later, the newspaper reported.

Read more at the Northwest Times of Indiana.