Dover man, 73, charged in wife's 1993 death

TAMPA -- After Barbara Mongee disappeared in 1993, her husband Reuben told people she had died in a car accident or of carbon monoxide poisoning, deputies say. But last year her body turned up with a gunshot wound, and today detectives charged the husband with murder.

Reuben Mongee, 73, of 5530 Briny Breeze Drive in Dover, was charged with second-degree murder with a firearm.

Barbara Mongee was last seen Oct. 15, 1993, when she left work for a one-week vacation. When she didn't return, deputies investigated.

At the time, Reubin Mongee told investigators his wife was out of state checking on a sick relative and could not be contacted. He later told others she had died in a car accident, or of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Construction workers found her skeletal remains on Sept. 24, 2007, at Parsons Avenue and Windfield Lane in Seffner. The Medical Examiner found evidence of a gunshot wound to the back of the head.

-- Times staff