An Ohio man has been charged with the murder of his girlfriend, whose body was in a landfill in the southern part of the state on Wednesday.

Columbus Police said that Gene Scott, 46, has been charged with killing 40-year-old Renee Benedetti, WBNS reported.

Commander Mark Denner told reporters that police in Cleveland had contacted them on January 31 about a possible murder involving Scott and Benedetti. Investigators in Columbus confirmed that Benedetti was seen in Columbus on January 26 and filed a missing person report on February 1 that included an endangered missing person alert. He did not provided details on what Cleveland police reported.

Scott was located in Kentucky 18 hours later, Denner said. He was taken into custody on a weapons charge and eventually extradited to Ohio.

Court documents say that Scott told investigators that on January 29, he had grabbed Benedetti during a heated argument and choked her until she stopped moving. The records say he wrapped her body in a rug and tossed it into a dumpster in southern Ohio.

Columbus police worked with Rumpke Waste & Recycling to search a landfill facility in Brown County, beginning on February 20. The body was found after two and half weeks of searching and identified as Benedetti.

Scott is scheduled to appear in court on the murder charge on Friday.

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[Featured image: Gene Scott, left, and Renee Beneditti/Columbus Police Department]