By MOLLY DAVIDSON / Staff Writer

COLUMBIANA—A 31-year-old Chelsea woman has been indicted in the shooting murder of 22-year-old Harpersville resident, Anthony Shane Gibson.

Candie Renee Zito, who lists an address in the 100 block of Cameron Drive in Chelsea, was indicted by a grand jury on counts of murder and theft of a motor vehicle on Feb. 8.

According to the indictment, Zito allegedly shot and killed Gibson.

Gibson was reported missing from Harpersville on July 2, 2015, and was last seen driving a white 1998 Ford Escort. His badly burned body was discovered in the woods north of Interstate 20 in Leeds by a group of people riding four-wheelers on July 5, 2015.

The Leeds Police Department announced Zito was person of interest early on in the murder investigation. She was apprehended in Indiana on July 11, 2015, after a high-speed vehicle chase that ended in a traffic accident. At the time of her arrest, Zito was driving the vehicle Gibson was last seen driving.

An investigation led by the Leeds police indicated the murder allegedly took place at Zito’s parents’ home in Chelsea, then Gibson’s body was allegedly “dumped and burned in Leeds,” an October 2015 news release from the Leeds Police Department stated.

Zito was incarcerated in the Daviess County, Ind., Jail prior to her transfer to the Shelby County Jail, where she is currently in custody under a $1 million bond.

The Shelby County District Attorney’s Offices claims Zito “poses a real and present danger to the public,” citing Zito’s lengthy criminal history spanning three state, Alabama, Florida and Louisiana. According to a bond recommendation form filed with the Shelby County Circuit Court, Zito has been arrested 15 times on an array of charges, including domestic abuse and child endangerment, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and unlawful possession of a controlled substance.

Zito was also classified as a flight risk in the bond recommendation form.

“The defendant is a flight risk in that she has fled three jurisdictions in order to avoid prosecution (Florida, Louisiana and Alabama),” the form read. “Additionally, the defendant has failed to appear on several of the above recited charges in Louisiana.”

The DA’s Office also noted Zito’s sister and parents are employed in Bahrain and “she has significant family connections in the state of Florida, Louisiana and Indiana.”

Zito is scheduled to appear before Shelby County Circuit Court Judge Dan Reeves for arraignment on March 14 at 8:30 a.m.