Andelka Morariu

• Missing Since 02/28/2020
• Missing From St. Petersburg, Florida
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Female
• Race White
• Date of Birth 04/25/1957 (67)
• Age 62 years old
• Height and Weight 5'1 - 5'2, 102 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry Description A gray Catalent Pharma work t-shirt and blue pants.
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Blonde hair, brown eyes.

Details of Disappearance

Andelka was last seen in St. Petersburg, Florida on February 28, 2020. She has never been heard from again. A relative reported her missing on March 2 after she didn't show up for work in the finishing department of Catalent, a pharmaceutical company.

At the time of her disappearance, Andelka lived with her ex-husband, George Morariu, in a home on 81st Avenue north in the Gateway Plaza area. A photo of him is posted with this case summary. They had divorced in 2018, but still lived together and dated each other.

One neighbor said the Morarius often had noisy fights. He also tracked Andelka's whereabouts and tried to make trouble for her at her job by making anonymous complaints to Catalent claiming she was having an affair with a coworker and had had sex in the bathroom at work. On the same day as Andelka's disappearance, George found out Catalent had investigated his allegations about her and determined them to be without foundation.

George stated they had gotten into an argument and she simply walked out the door on the day of her disappearance and never came back. The police officer who interviewed him right after her disappearance noted he had scratches on his face.

Video surveillance footage showed Andelka arriving home from work at 7:42 p.m. About half an hour later, there were three noises that sounded like gunshots. The cameras never showed Andelka leaving the house after she got home, but video from a neighbor's doorbell camera showed George removing a large object, wrapped in a blanket or tarp, from his house at 1:00 a.m. and putting it in the trunk of his car.

A search of the home and two vehicles turned up biological evidence linked to Andelka, including a .40-caliber Smith and Wesson pistol, belonging to George, which had his DNA on it and and a small amount of Andelka's blood on both the exterior and the interior of the gun.

Inside George's car was a plastic Publix bag containing a damp and bloodstained t-shirt with the logo of Andelka's employer, and a small fragment of Andelka's skull. A medical examiner would later testify about the skull fragment, saying such an injury would probably have been fatal even with immediate medical attention.

Although her body had not been found, on April 3, the medical examiner issued a death certificate for her, saying she was the victim of a homicide "by unspecified means." That same day, George was arrested on a charge of second-degree murder in his ex-wife's case, a charge which the prosecution subsequently enhanced to first-degree murder.

At his four-day trial in December 2023, he chose to represent himself with a public defender to advise him. He argued that even if he did have something to do with Andelka's disappearance, there was no proof of murder, and suggested "a heated argument, maybe an accident, which is excusable homicide" could have happened.

George was convicted of first-degree murder with a firearm; the jury only deliberated for one hour. He was sentenced to life in prison.

Foul play is suspected in Andelka's case due to the circumstances involved.