Detectives Suspect David Perry in Kelly Rothwell's Disappearance

Homicide detectives investigating Kelly Rothwell’s disappearance have named her boyfriend David Perry a suspect based on bizarre behavior and circumstantial evidence, according to the . 

Rothwell, a , went missing March 12 after having lunch with a friend in a Clearwater Chili’s. She told the friend she was going to end her relationship with Perry, her live-in boyfriend.  Perry moved out of the condo the two shared on the night she vanished. He now lives in his hometown of Elmira, NY. 

According to detectives Michael Bailey andAmy Plourde, Perry went from being a person of interest to a suspect after a recent encounter with the detectives in Elmira. 

“He was unnerved,” Bailey said in a news conference at the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office in Largo. “He flew out the door when he saw us.”

Perry was brought into the Elmira police station June 6 to sign documents to have his vehicle released from police custody. 

“It was our opportunity to speak to him,” Bailey said. But Perry refused. “He ran out the front door into the parking lot,” Bailey said.

“He was not going to talk to us, with or without an attorney.” 

During Bailey and Plourde’s trip to Elmira, the detectives also conducted a series of interviews with some of Perry’s associates and family members. Bailey said that Perry’s bizarre behavior, combined with circumstantial evidence and his family members refusal to cooperate with the investigation, led the detectives to suspect him.  

Some of his family members refused to speak with detectives. One family member asked for an attorney before having an interview with detectives, Bailey said.  

Despite the case moving forward, no charges have been filed, and the case remains a missing persons investigation.

“It is still a missing persons investigation, but this is one step closer to making it more of a criminal investigation on the homicide side,” Plourde said.  

Detectives learned that before Rothwell’s disappearance, Perry canceled his gym membership. He told an acquaintance at the gym that it was because he and Rothwell were moving to Hawaii. However, Rothwell, 35, never mentioned moving to Hawaii to her family and friends, detectives said. 

“It was kind of odd. ... It was suspicious,” Bailey said. 

After Rothwell’s disappearance, detectives learned that Perry had a new girlfriend who recently moved to Hawaii. 

“It may or may not be a coincidence that his new girlfriend has moved to Hawaii,” Plourde said.

Although the case remains a missing persons investigation, detectives said they don’t think Rothwell is alive. 

“It’s too early to say that Perry is a suspect in her death,” Bailey said. “We have to establish she is deceased.” Bailey elaborated that based on his experience with cases like this one, he thinks Rothwell is not alive. 

Rothwell was set to graduate from St. Petersburg Police Academy with her Spring 2011 class on April 13. During the graduation ceremony, her name was listed among the graduates.  

“She was a member of a police academy, which is as you know is a Monday through Friday  job, morning to night,” Plourde said. 

“For us to hear that he told people at a gym that they were moving to Hawaii was definitely out of left field,” she added.  

Based on the circumstantial evidence and interviews, Plourde said, criminal circumstances surround Rothwell’s disappearance. 

Because the case is an open investigation, detectives could not elaborate on other evidence and information gathered during interviews that led them to suspect Perry in Rothwell’s disappearance.  

Bailey did say there was nothing in Rothwell and Perry’s apartment that appeared out of the ordinary. In about a month, the sheriff's office will receive lab results from evidence collected from the apartment, Bailey said.  

On May 5, Perry was arrested and charged with insurance fraud and grand larceny, accused of feigning an injury while he worked as a New York State correctional officer. He was released on bail. The terms of his bail prohibit him from leaving New York.

Detectives are looking for information on where Rothwell and Perry were on March 12 between 4 and 9 p.m.  

“These things take a lot of time," Plourde said. "We’re talking about significant amount of circumstantial evidence that we have to piece together.”