Body found at rest stop with multiple stab wounds, two now face charges in connection to the murder

Two people face charges after a body was found hidden in a car near a highway rest stop, police say. 

On March 31, a witness called 911 after finding a body at a highway rest stop. They also saw a silver Nissan Altima parked in the woods, which later crashed into an embankment, according to an arrest report obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat.

The witness said they saw a man, who was later identified as Rue, climb out the driver’s side window of the vehicle after grabbing a tablet and charging cord from inside, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.

“(The witness) observed what appeared to be blood on the rear bumper near the trunk, so he decided to open the trunk using the key fob,” the arrest report from the Tallahassee Democrat said. “Inside he discovered the trunk was missing the carpeted trunk floor mat. He also observed several containers of what appeared to be cleaning supplies.”

When the witness saw the missing floor mat, he saw what looked like appendages protruding from underneath the floor mat. He moved the mat, which revealed a deceased body. The witness then called 911.

The court records obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat identified the victim as Antrae Lennon, 34.

“The front of the decedent’s torso was riddled with stab wounds; however, the wounds were not actively bleeding and appeared to be dated,” the report says. “Once the body was rolled, it revealed even more stab wounds on the decedent’s sides, back and shoulders.”

“It was apparent that with the bleach containers inside the vehicle, bleach stains on the suspect’s clothing, bleach smell emanating from the decedent’s body and the manner in which the decedent’s body was covered by floor mats and debris in the secluded wooded area that the suspect was actively tampering with and concealing a dead body,” the report says.

Papa-Assane Rue, 27, was spotted by investigators from the Leon County Sheriff's Office, and witnesses identified him as the man at the rest stop.

He was taken in for questioning, but was uncooperative. On April 1, police charged him with first-degree murder. 

Detectives spoke to Rue's girlfriend, Cassandra Hernandez, and determined she communicated with Rue via text message and likely knew of the homicide. 

Hernandez traveled with Rue to help him dispose of the body, according to the sheriff's office. She waited for Rue in a parking lot several miles as Rue left the body in at the rest stop. 

Deputies charged Hernandez with accessory after the fact to a capital felony.