LEE COUNTY, FL (WAFF) -
The body recovered in Lee County, Florida earlier this week has been positively identified through dental records as 41-year-old Amy Patterson, according to the sheriff's department.
A cause of death has not been determined yet and more forensic analysis will be conducted.
Officials spent most of Wednesday and part of Thursday searching the area where the body was found after Daniel Proctor told them the location of Patterson's remains.
Patterson, Proctor's ex-wife, was reported missing in July, 2011 when she didn't show up for the first day of school. Proctor was arrested on theft charges in Madison County, Alabama after fleeing from Florida when investigators questioned him about Patterson's disappearance.
Proctor received two life sentences for the theft convictions and then directed authorities to Patterson's remains on August 21st, according to investigators.
Investigators believe Patterson was a victim of domestic homicide. Proctor was charged with assault against Patterson in 1994.
Depending on what information Proctor gave to Florida authorities concerning the disappearance of Patterson, legal analyst Mark McDaniel says Proctor could face capital murder, which carries the death penalty, or a charge of murder, which carries life in prison.
Before any of that can take place, Proctor has to go through the extradition process. He can either waive extradition back to Florida or Florida will extradite him to stand trial.
"If he waives extradition, it will be immediate. If he does not waive extradition, then they have to go through a process - the governor of Florida requests the governor of Alabama. It's a process that can be lengthy, but he will end up in the state of Florida on a murder charge," explained McDaniel.
Proctor will be charged under Florida's Habitual Felony Offender Act. Meaning, just like Alabama, Florida law allows the court to sentence convicted felons to extended sentences if they have prior felony charges.
Ladonna Salehi, Patterson's mother, described the last 72 hours and the last 13 months as extremely difficult.
She's glad she finally knows what happened to her daughter, but she doesn't call it closure.
"I think for me personally it is the anger I have that he robbed me the opportunity of kissing her goodbye because there's not anything left of her. There are no remains. It is just bones," said Salehi.
Wednesday, Madison County and Florida investigators stopped by Salehi's Huntsville house and told her the body they found in southwest Florida was her daughter.
"Giving me that kind of news, which is the news that no mother ever really wants to hear…" she said.
Despite the positive ID, investigators won't turn the remains over to the family right away.
"They said anywhere from two weeks to a month depending on the forensics. They've got to get everything so that if they extradite him down there and produce a case against him, they've got to have detailed information," said Salehi.
Patterson's mother hopes her daughter's story and what happened to her has a positive impact in other people's lives.
Lee County Schools released this statement following the positive identification:
"While only with the District for a short time, Ms. Patterson proved to be a dedicated professional and her love of science and teaching was evident from the first day. She was the kind of person you look for when hiring a new teacher – and she will be missed by the Mariner Middle School Family."
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Proctor's ex-wife, Amy Patterson, has been missing since July of 2011.
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