Suspect arrested months after murder victim found partially buried at fast-food drive-thru
The suspect was in jail on charges of failure to register as a sex offender
A suspect has been arrested months after a murder victim was found partially buried at a Florida fast-food drive-thru.
Michael Canty, 54, was charged last week in connection to the June 2024 death of Dawn Morrison, 48, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
On June 18, deputies responded to a Tampa Church’s Chicken after a person found Morrision’s body partially covered in mulch near the drive-thru, according to the sheriff’s office.
The body was decomposed and an autopsy said she sustained upper body trauma. Authorities did not release further details about how she died.
Her death was ruled a homicide.
Investigators spoke to her friends, collected DNA evidence and reviewed surveillance video. That led them to Canty as a suspect.
Video showed Canty and Morris walking to a dumpster near a McDonald’s on June 15, according to the Tampa Bay Times. The two then walked toward the Church, and a loud scream of ‘help’ could be heard before the camera stopped recording.
The video also showed Canty walking between the two restaurants in the area and changing his clothes.
Canty said he was with the woman to do drugs. He initially denied going to the drive-thru. However, when shown the video, he said it was possible, and he didn’t remember, according to the Times.
When he was charged, Canty was already in custody on an unrelated charge of failure to register as a sex offender, authorities said. He now faces charges of second-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence.