girlfriend to death and hiding her body in a wood.

Clyde Brookes, 38, was charged on Saturday with the second degree murder of his live-in girlfriend Denise Lizotte, also known as Denise Hanson, on Easter Sunday.

The body of Ms Lizotte, 31, which was clad in a bathrobe and covered in stab wounds, was found about a mile from where the couple lived in Oldsmar, Florida.

According to the St. Petersburg Times in Florida, both had recently been charged with assaulting one another.

Brookes' arrest affadavit at Pinellas County Court, Florida, states that he was born in Bermuda and is a Bermudian citizen.

Sheriff's records show he worked for an electrical company. He was charged with murder on Monday and remanded in custody at Pinellas County Jail.

The St. Petersburg Times quoted Lizotte's sister Jennifer Martinez as saying Brookes gave an "Oscar-winning performance'' when she questioned him about the disappearance.

"He was leading us to believe that she just up and left,'' she told the newspaper.

"Several times he got choked up like he was going to cry. Obviously, he gave an Oscar-winning performance.

"He kept telling me how much he loved her and that she was his greatest love.'' BERMUDIAN BDA