Vanished Into Thin Air: What happened to Melissa Lewis?

Melissa Lewis, a 39-year-old lawyer from Florida, was strangled to death with bare hands on the floor of her garage in March 2008 by her best friend's soon-to-be ex-husband at the time, Tony Villegas. Her body was later discovered in a nearby canal. Authorities were able to connect Villegas to the murder using phone records after conducting a thorough investigation and naming multiple suspects.

The investigation into Lewis' murder had its fair share of twists and turns, but the perpetrator was eventually found guilty eight years later and sentenced to life in prison.

ID's Vanished Into Thin Air will revisit the unfortunate murder case of Melissa Lewis in an upcoming episode titled Going Places, which is scheduled to air on Monday, November 21, 2022, at 10:00 pm ET. Here's what the synopsis states:

"When Melissa Lewis doesn't show up for work, an intensive search finds her brutally killed; to locate her killer, police must reconstruct her movements."

Read further to learn the exact sequence of events from the night Melissa Lewis was murdered.

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Melissa Lewis was murdered in her garage, her body dumped in a canal

Born in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1968, Melissa Lewis started working as a Fort Lauderdale attorney at the now-dissolved Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler law firm, eventually becoming a partner after obtaining her GED and enrolling in college.

On March 5, 2008, Melissa left her workplace in the evening, going to the Publix grocery store on her way home, however, failing to turn up for work for an important meeting the following day. Her concerned best friend and coworker, Debra Coffey, called her sister Carrie Homberg and authorities for a welfare check when they found that her garage door was open and Melissa's car was missing.

All that was left behind in the garage were bags of groceries and pepper spray all over the garage door and around the pet door. Authorities also discovered a suit button on the ground near Coffey, which was confirmed to be from Lewis's suit at the time. All signs indicated that she was ambushed when she arrived.

She was captured on surveillance footage inside the Publix shop, but no suspect was seen following her. Investigators concluded that she was attacked upon arriving home and the evidence found in the garage supported the theory.

Lewis' car's OnStar security allowed investigators to access the GPS system. The vehicle was discovered near Lewis' home, but the missing attorney was still missing, save for her shoes and suit jacket in the car trunk. Her body was discovered in a canal about four miles from her home a few days later. Her death was eventually determined to be due to manual strangulation.

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Tony Villegas, then-husband of Melissa Lewis' best friend, was eventually found guilty of first-degree murder

The investigation focused on Tony Villegas, the husband of Melissa Lewis' best friend, Debra Coffey, who was having marital problems with Villegas. Villegas allegedly believed Lewis urged Debra to end their relationship. Villegas was also linked to all of the locations where Melissa's phone was traced back to on the night of the murder, according to phone records.

A witness came forward, claiming that Tony's car was seen in the same area, where Melissa's vehicle was discovered. Tony's roommate also claimed that he witnessed Tony wash his hands and arms to get rid of pepper spray residue. The most incriminating piece of evidence was Tony's DNA, which was found on Melissa's jacket. In 2016, he was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.

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Catch Melissa Lewis' case on ID's Vanished Into Thin Air this Monday.