Man killed girlfriend after she returned from the hospital and spoke with her grandmother, cops say

Left: Floyd Long (Mecklenburg County Jail). Right: Shaquina Harris (Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department).

A 45-year-old North Carolina man is charged with killing his girlfriend who disappeared over a month ago and burying her body in a shallow grave.

Floyd Long is charged with first-degree murder, failing to report a death and theft of a dog in the slaying of Shaquina Harris. She was reported missing July 13. She was last seen around 10 a.m. July 2 when she left Atrium Hospital in Charlotte.

Investigators obtained Harris' cellphone records that showed her returning to Long's house. Her last call was just before noon on July 2, when she spoke with her grandmother. Her last known social media post was around 4 p.m. that day. Harris' phone never left the area, records showed.

The victim's family said it was unlike her not to communicate with family. They handed out flyers and searched the area where she was last seen.

"Ain't sleeping, can't sleep, cause we don't know if you're OK or if you're not," Lakisha Harris told local ABC affiliate WSOC at the time.

They were hoping for a happier resolution.

Long told cops that he returned home around 5 p.m., but Shaquina Harris was not there. He claimed that she had taken all of her belongings, including her dog, which is a long-haired Yorkie-Terrier mix.

"He stated he sent Shaquina text asking her why she left the back door unlocked," cops wrote.

Ring camera footage showed Long and another man walking out of the home, with Harris' dog following behind. Investigators searched the home and found "several areas of suspected blood" and a firearm, the affidavit stated. They also found suspected blood in Long's car.

Cops tracked down the other man, who they say provided the information needed to crack the case. He told them that he and Long got into his vehicle and the dog followed them inside. He said Long told him "the girl left the dog." The man explained to cops that as they were driving around Long said he "did something bad" and needed his help "moving something," per the affidavit.

Long allegedly asked him about his favorite places to fish and other remote areas. They stopped off the side of the road near some woods to use the restroom and Long seemed extremely "fascinated" with the area, the man told police.

The two drove back to Long's home, and they went into a back bedroom. Long turned on the light and the man saw a woman matching Harris' description dead on the bed. She "felt cold to the touch and had blood coming from her nose," cops wrote.

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The man took cops to the area where they stopped to use the restroom. With the help of a cadaver dog, cops located Harris' skeletal remains in a wooded area off the road. Long's cellphone data allegedly showed that he was in the area around 8:30 p.m. July 6.

Authorities have not released a cause of death or a potential motive. The dog has not been recovered.

Officers arrested Long on Saturday and took him to the Mecklenburg County Jail, where he remains without bond. His next court date was not immediately listed.