Body found may be missing teacher, boyfriend confesses
CHARLOTTE (WTVD) -- The boyfriend of a missing teacher with ties to the Triangle is now facing murder charges after police say remains discovered early Thursday may be Bianca Tanner.
"I'm thankful she was found, but we didn't expect her to be found dead," said Tanner's aunt, Faye Scarborough. "And that baby is not going to ever know his mom. It is real hard on the family."
Authorities in Mecklenburg County have been searching for the 31 year old after the elementary school teacher vanished in Charlotte on June 8.
During a news conference Thursday morning, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Rodney Monroe announced that authorities found the remains after a witness directed them to a wooded area near southwest Charlotte.
Following an extensive search overnight, police located a body near the North Carolina/South Carolina border around 4:30 a.m.
Authorities said they could not officially say the remains were Tanner's until the Medical Examiner could fully examine the body.
Tanner's boyfriend, Angelo Grayson Smith Jr., was charged with murder in connection with the case and was taken to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. Police say Smith confessed to them.
Smith was arrested last month near Chicago on a warrant for contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile.
Sources told WSOC-TV in Charlotte at the time of his arrest that the charge involved Tanner's 3-year-old son.
"All I can say is he's going to pay for his wrongdoing," Scarborough said. "He knew where she was. Why didn't he come and tell authorities?"
