The charred remains found in a Staten Island storage facility are those of a missing mother-of-three and her estranged husband and his new girlfriend now face charges over her murder, police have confirmed.
New York City public school teacher Jeanine Cammarata, 37, disappeared on Saturday night, less than 48 hours after she told Michael Cammarata that she wanted a divorce.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea tweeted Friday: 'The investigation into the disappearance of Jeanine Cammarata is now officially a murder investigation.
'Working closely with (the) Staten Island DA we have arrested Michael Cammarata & Ayisha Egea, both charged with (second-degree) murder.'
Michael, 42, had been taken into police custody on Tuesday after he allegedly admitted to assaulting his wife on the night she went missing.
Investigators have allegedly obtained surveillance footage which shows Michael carrying a large plastic bin out of his apartment in the Queens shortly after Jeanine left on Saturday night.
He was later seen unloading the bin with the help of another person at a storage facility in Staten Island, where police recovered a woman's body early Thursday.
A police spokesperson told New York Post that authorities had struggled to make a positive identification of the victim as the corpse was 'charred and unidentifiable' before being placed in a black plastic bag.
Sources say Egea, Michael's girlfriend, told police about the storage unit, which was filled with air fresheners allegedly intended to hide the stench of the body.
The body of missing teacher and mother-of-three Jeanine Cammarata, 37, was found in a storage unit in Staten Island early Thursday morning
A lawyer representing Jeanine (left) said she had served her estranged husband Michael Cammarata (right) with divorce papers less than 48 hours before she vanished Saturday night
NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea tweeted Friday: 'The investigation into the disappearance of Jeanine Cammarata is now officially a murder investigation'
A city medical examiner vehicle is seen parked outside the storage facility
Investigators in white Tyvek suits were seen going in and out of a building at the facility
Jeanine was last seen at about 9pm Saturday when she dropped her boyfriend off at his house and said she was going to visit Michael and their three-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter, who live with him.
Later that night she sent several alarming messages to friends.
Jeanine's boyfriend reported her missing on Tuesday after she failed to show up for work at elementary school P.S. 29 in Castleton Corner or her side job at Dollar Tree.
She had missed a child custody hearing on Monday, according to the attorney handling her divorce, Eric Gansberg.
'It just doesn't make sense to me,' Gansberg told the New York Post.
'She was so eager to proceed. She wanted to be with her children. I cannot imagine her just walking away.'
By Tuesday afternoon Michael was questioned by police about Jeanine's disappearance and allegedly admitted to police that he had hit her in the face after they had sex on Saturday, according to WPIX-TV.
He was charged with stalking, harassment, and assault, though law enforcement sources have said those charges are unrelated to
