Man accused of killing girlfriend hours before I-75 standoff makes first court appearance

Layza Pinero RestoTyler WatkinsLEE COUNTY, Fla. —

The man accused of killing his girlfriend on Wednesday hours before a standoff with the Florida Highway Patrol and Lee County Sheriff’s Office on I-75 made his first appearance in court on Saturday.

Ladavion King is accused of killing his girlfriend Natasha Moses in St. Petersburg.

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Troopers said King fled the scene and was later found barricaded inside a bullet-riddled Ram truck on I-75. Body camera footage captured officers ordering him to show his hands during the standoff.

A family member said King had been dating Moses, a 47-year-old mother of four, for five or six years. According to the relative, King told his family he “snapped” during an argument with Moses on Wednesday morning, leading to her death.

During King’s hearing, via an iPad because he is still receiving treatment at a hospital, a judge did not set a bond.

St. Petersburg police said Moses was killed around noon Wednesday. About two hours later, troopers said King was involved in the standoff on I-75. During the incident, a family member said King called a relative and admitted to snapping during an argument with Moses before fleeing.

Theron Musgrove, Moses’ brother, said he had interacted with King earlier that morning and noticed unusual behavior.

“I was trying to read him. I was trying to gauge him, and he never really said anything out of the way. I can’t really think, but it was just strange behavior,” Musgrove said.

King was taken into custody after the standoff, which included a shootout, authorities said.

King was booked into the Lee County Sheriff’s Office on Friday. FHP filed the following charges against King:

Four counts of attempted second-degree murder with a firearmDischarging a firearm in publicUnlawful possession of a firearm by a felonFleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer.

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