A Texas man was arrested and charged with in the murder of a Belleview woman whose partial remains were found in June by a hiker in the Ocala National Forest.
Christopher Lee Takhvar, 43, is being charged with second degree murder and grand theft. He was arrested Aug. 15 in Jefferson, Texas, on a warrant for the theft of a van belonging to victim Robin Lee Upson’s family. The 63-year-old was Takhvar’s business partner and friend of more than 20 years.
A portion of Upson’s remains were found June 11 near the intersection of NE 115th Avenue and East Highway 40 in the Ocala National Forest. When deputies arrived, they found a woman’s torso, which was missing its head and appendages.
A photo of a robin bird tattoo found on the remains was posted to the sheriff’s office’s Facebook page in an effort to identify the victim, and she was positively identified as Upson soon after.
Upson’s family contacted the sheriff’s office and told detectives Takhvar had borrowed their van but failed to return it. In the meantime, detectives executed a search warrant of Upson’s home and determined that the murder and dismemberment had occurred there.
The family’s van was later located in Orlando, and detectives discovered evidence that Takhvar was the sole occupant of the vehicle and had used the van to transport and dispose of Upson’s remains, a sheriff’s office report states.
Shortly after Takhvar was arrested, Major Crimes Det. Aaron Levy traveled to Texas to interview him. Takhvar admitted to stealing the van and killing Upson, claiming it was done in self-defense, the sheriff’s report says, adding that he also admitted to dismembering her body and disposing of Upson’s torso in the Ocala National Forest.
Takhvar also told Levy that he buried Upson’s head, arms and legs in her backyard. Detectives, forensic technicians and the medical examiner subsequently found the missing body parts buried there.
Levy conducted a review of the evidence and refuted claims made by Takhvar that this was a case of self-defense. Takhvar was transported from Texas to the Marion County Jail, where he is being held on no bond.