According to autopsy results, a body found June 18 near Juanita Road in Liberty County is that of Hinesville woman Savannah Smith, 22, who previously had not been seen since June 8. Hinesville Police Department Detective Thomas Cribbs confirmed Smith’s identity at 4 p.m. Friday.

The body, which law enforcement officials recovered in the Gum Branch area, originally was sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s crime lab in Savannah for an autopsy, according to Cribbs, but was eventually sent to a lab in Atlanta because more extensive tests were necessary.

Smith’s boyfriend, Maurice Newsome, 21, who was arrested June 17 in Atlanta and charged with aggravated assault, will now face homicide charges, the detective said.

For more on this story, see Sunday's Coastal Courier.