Charred body of missing woman is found a week after her boyfriend, 25, was arrested with burns on his face

  • Joseph Porter, 25, was charged with kidnapping his ex-girlfriend, Cristina Prodan, 27, of Edina, Minnesota in a federal court in Minnesota Friday 
  • Authorities believe it was Prodan's charred body that was found on January 6
  • When Porter was arrested in Arkansas, he had burns on his face 
  • Porter allegedly poured gasoline over Prodan's body, then set it on fire
  • Prodan was reported missing two days prior to the body's discovery  

An Arkansas man with burns on his face has been charged with kidnapping after the charred remains of his ex-girlfriend were discovered in a shipping container two days after she went missing.  

Joseph Porter, 25, of Jacksonville, Arkansas, was charged with kidnapping his ex-girlfriend, Cristina Prodan, 27, of Edina, Minnesota in a federal court in Minnesota Friday. 

Authorities believe that it was Prodan's charred body that was discovered in a shipping container in New Orleans on January 6, the day after her mother reported her missing. 

Final identification of Prodan's body is pending however authorities believe it is her body based on statements they have obtained, the Star Tribune reports.  

Cristina Prodan, 27 (left), was reported missing from Minnesota on January 5, a few days after taking her abusive boyfriend, Joseph Porter, back.
Porter was arrested in Arkansas five days later, with burns on his face. Authorities believe they have found Prodan's charred body

Cristina Prodan, 27 (left), was reported missing from Minnesota on January 5, a few days after taking her abusive boyfriend, Joseph Porter (right), back. Porter was arrested in Arkansas five days later, with burns on his face. Authorities believe they have found Prodan's charred body

Charging documents filed by Arkansas authorities and the FBI, regarding Porter's prior felony theft charge in Arkansas, revealed that Porter's 44-year-old husband, Richard T. Crawford told investigators that Porter admitted to having killed Prodan in Minnesota on January 4 after they argued. 

Crawford allegedly told investigators that Porter brought Prodan's body to New Orleans, where he put it in a shipping container, poured gasoline over it and then set it on fire on January 6. 

While setting Prodan on fire, Crawford said Porter sustained burns on his face, hands and arms. Porter's facial burns are evident in his most recent mugshot. 

Porter is said to have turned up at the Jacksonville home he shared with Crawford in the days immediately following Prodan's murder, driving a car he allegedly stole from a New Orleans towing year near where Prodan's body was found. 

FOX9 reported that state troopers stopped Porter two times during his apparent flight from Minnesota - once while driving in Missouri on the evening of January 4 and against in Arkansas on January 5.

Porter violated a restraining order Pordan had taken out on him in December. Pordan (left and right) took him back soon after, only to go missing a few days later 

The Missouri trooper is said to have observed a shovel and pickax in the passenger area of Porter's car. Meanwhile, the Arkansas trooper is said to have seen two suitcases, a shovel and another type of tool in the car.  

Surveillance footage obtained by state police and the FBI showed Porter and Crawford at a Walmart store near their Arkansas home on January 9. It's the same location where a cellphone that matched the type Prodan opened was pawned.

Porter (pictured in a December mugshot) allegedly became abusive and Porter took out a restraining order against him

Porter (pictured in a December mugshot) allegedly became abusive and Porter took out a restraining order against him

A search of the couple's Jacksonville home and the stolen car from New Orleans turned up several of Prodan's possessions - which her mother identified - including a jewelry box, clothing and electronics. 

Porter's arrest warrant included a statement from his mother, Arlie Kathryne, who said that three weeks prior, Porter told her that he intended to kidnap Prodan, steal all of her money, take the guns from her safe deposit box and then leave her somewhere no one would be able to find her. She also said that Prodan suffered from epilepsy which made her an easy target for Porter's abuse.  

Kathryne had previously told the Star Tribune that Porter had physically assaulted Prodan in December, resulting in a miscarriage during the first trimester of her pregnancy.  

Porter is currently in jail in Little Rock, Arkansas, with bail set at $500,000. He has not been charged with Prodan's death.

Prodan's mother, Livia, has said that her daughter invited Porter to move in with her in October after the two met online.

Soon after they started living together, Porter allegedly became abusive, and Prodan eventually took out a restraining order against them. 

On December 28, Porter pleaded guilty to violating the order, and he was sentenced to time served.

Soon after, he got back together with Prodan and she went missing just a few days later.  

On January 11, Livia Prodan told WCCO that local police had told her they believed her daughter was dead. 

Prodan invited Porter to move in with her in her apartment (above) in Edina, Minnesota in October, after neeting him online 

Prodan invited Porter to move in with her in her apartment (above) in Edina, Minnesota in October, after neeting him online 

Prodan's mother says police have told her they believe her daughter is dead 

Prodan's mother says police have told her they believe her daughter is dead 

'The deputies told me that they are looking for the body, but I don't know if they find it or not,' the mother told Fox 9

Livia says she warned her daughter away from Porter. 

'She felt in love with him - she wanted to get married,' the mother said. 'I told her, "He doesn't love you, he just came to you to steal from you - he's homeless, he doesn't work."'

Porter has a lengthy criminal record with arrests for battery, burglary, and property damage in Arkansas, where he also lived. 

He was also the subject of another no-contact order with another woman in Hennepin County,Minnesota in 2014.  

In one case, discovered by WCCO, a girlfriend wrote that Porter 'beat her unconscious...and killed her dog violently.' 

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