WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — WPTV is following new details in the case of a West Palm Beach man charged with killing his roommate, whose body is still missing.
It's been eight months since Laura Willsey vanished, and police have yet to find her body.
WATCH: WPTV speaks to the family of Laura Willsey as they continue to look for her body
This week, a grand jury indicted Todd Reichert on a charge of first-degree murder, with Reichert pleading not guilty.
WPTV reporter Michael Hoffman spoke to Willsey's family Wednesday as they are determined to keep her name in the spotlight.
Willsey’s sisters, Brenda Willsey and Lisa Lamontagne, are determined as they begin a long journey as a trial appears on the horizon, encouraged by the recent indictment, but question how something like this could have happened.
“He's got more than four threats of serious bodily harm to a person or death, and then he's got like 10 plus assaults towards either domestic violence or policeman,” Lamontagne said. “How does somebody with this record continue to be let out free?”
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Records show Reichert has been convicted of a host of crimes, from weapons violations to domestic violence to aggravated assault in at least two states.
After searching Willsey’s residence, detectives found "blood spatter and droplets inside and outside of the home."
Investigators said a witness heard a loud argument, a beating and the “crumpling of plastic trash bags” at her home on Garden Avenue in West Palm Beach.
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A DNA report from Reichert’s vehicle showed blood found on the carpeting matched Willsey’s blood after a witness says Reichert told the witness he was going to Belle Glade and wasn't taking his phone to avoid being tracked.
Now presumed dead, detectives have yet to find her body.
“I'm just going to put my faith in the system and hope that they come through this time,” Lamontagne said. “I mean, his record is extensive, and I guess we have to put faith in what we know.”
The sisters say that though the road ahead of them is long and likely painful, they aren’t going anywhere, asking for anyone with additional information to come forward.
“Now is the time to come forward,” Brenda Willsey said. “If they know anything, please tell the West Palm Beach Police Department. It's not too late, and now we need it more than ever.”
“Put (yourselves) in our shoes,” Lamontagne said. “If this were their family member, what would they do? Would they give up? Or would they fight for them? Because that's exactly what we're doing. Because somebody has to.”
Anyone with information that could assist investigators is encouraged to reach out to the West Palm Beach Police Department.
