TITUSVILLE, Fla. – A community was grieving Sunday after detectives found a beloved 72-year-old Florida philanthropist’s burned body in a canal in Brevard County and her burned car in Orange County.
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Jessie Kirk, of Titusville, was a devoted supporter of the Children’s Advocacy Center of Brevard, a nonprofit organization focused on helping minors who are victims of abuse or neglect.
Titusville Police Department opened a missing person’s case after a concerned friend reported that Kirk did not show up for her morning walk on Tuesday and that was unusual.
“That investigation turned highly suspicious when a niece of Mrs. Kirk arrived on scene and recognized a red Honda SUV,” Titusville Cmdr. Tyler Wright said adding it belonged to David Armstrong Barber, Kirk’s niece’s ex-boyfriend.
Records show Barber has an arrest record in both Brevard and Orange counties. Last year, prosecutors filed cases against him for stalking and for attempted burglary of an occupied dwelling.
Wright said during a news conference that surveillance videos from 9 p.m., on Monday to 4:15 a.m., on Tuesday, showed Kirk’s stolen white Lincoln Navigator in Titusville.
Orange County Sheriff’s Office deputies later found the Lincoln Navigator had been set on fire in a wooded area near State Road 50 and State Road 520.
At about 12:20 p.m., detectives arrested Barber, Kirk’s niece’s ex-boyfriend, for loitering and prowling and grand theft auto after finding him lurking near the Somerset condominium complex where Kirk had lived for years.
“He had injuries consistent with high heat and burns and several scratches,” Titusville Sgt. Bryan Nelson told reporters.
At about 2:45 p.m., detectives found Kirk dead near the area of Haulover Canal Bridge, police said. Nelson said her remains were not recognizable because she had been burned.
“At the medical examiner’s office, during the autopsy, identification was made,” Nelson said describing the case as “gut-wrenching” and “a heinous crime.”
On Wednesday, Barber, 35, of West Palm Beach, appeared in court and a judge denied him bond. The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office also reported that he had served as a correctional deputy from 2018 to 2022 when he resigned.
On Thursday, Titusville police officers announced Barber was the only person of interest in the case.
Florida Today reported court records show, “Kirk’s niece reported that Barber had turned up at her Rockledge home and placed electrical tape over her security camera lens” in December.
Wright and Nelson said Kirk was a beloved member of the community.
“She was a kind individual and had a gift to connect with anyone and everyone she met,” Wright said.
The Navy League had recognized Kirk with a Humanitarian of the Year award. She was also a supporter of Jess Parrish Medical Foundation to support a medical center in her community.
Kirk’s husband of over 30 years, Robert “Bob” Kirk, the owner of Kirk Realty, died of complications with leukemia, in 2022. Nelson said the homicide investigation continued.