by ANNA BROWN

Though all the questions haven’t been answered, Maria Fernandez’s family and friends said the arrest of her boyfriend in her murder brings some peace in the ordeal they have experienced for the past five months.

“It’s just closure; we got justice,” said John Jeter, one of Ms. Fernandez’s cousins who attended a news conference Monday morning announcing the arrest of Jamel Good.

“We’re happy, we’ve got some closure,” said family friend Cheryl Sartor. “We’ve been waiting for this day.”

Sheriff David Taylor said Good, 28, of 389 Blue Ridge Road, Union, is being held in the Union County Jail on a murder charge. Good had been a suspect in the case of the well-liked 31-year-old nurse since her disappearance. Authorities said he picked up Ms. Fernandez when her shift ended at Ellen Sagar Nursing Home. He admitted in a statement that he last saw her at his home that afternoon, said his arrest warrant.

Ms. Fernandez had been living with Good, but had moved out of the residence and moved in with her mother on Sept. 1.

A neighbor reported hearing gunshots from Good’s residence in the early evening of Sept. 3, the warrant said.

Taylor declined to comment on whether the neighbor thought the shots came from inside or outside the house and would not say what evidence had been collected as far as a bullet or shell casing. He said forensic pathologists had not been able to determine Ms. Fernandez’s cause of death. He said officers think she was killed the day she disappeared. Officers have not recovered a firearm in the case.

After Ms. Fernandez was last seen, a witness heard Good destroy an item on the side of a road in Union County, the warrant further stated. Pieces of her cell phone cover were found at the location where the witness heard Good destroying it.

Ms. Fernandez’s skeletal remains were found by a utility worker on Jan. 7 in a remote area outside Carlisle. Taylor said cell phone records showed Good used a phone on the night of Sept. 3 and the call he made activated off a tower in the Carlisle area.

Taylor said officers put Good’s house under surveillance around 4 a.m. Monday and took him into custody around 7 a.m.as he left for work. Good had in the car with him the 5-year-old son he shared with Ms. Fernandez. Taylor said the child was never in any danger.

Taylor said Good had hidden from officers on other occasions when they had gone to the home and also had instructed his children to conceal themselves from authorities in the past. Taylor said Good isn’t cooperating with officers and has made no statement since his arrest.

“We knew he was there and we could get our hands on him,” he said. “When we struck, we wanted to hit pay dirt. We knew he might go on the run.”

Good’s criminal record dates back to 1998 and includes arrests for possession of crack cocaine and marijuana and writing a fraudulent check.

Ms. Fernandez’ mother, Susie, stood with Taylor at the press conference as he made the announcement of Good’s arrest. She told Taylor she did not want to answer questions from reporters.

The press conference was held in the Union County Magistrate’s Office hearing room, which was filled with Ms. Fernandez’s family, friends and co-workers, including staff members at the Spartanburg Regional Medical Center Heart Center, where she had a second job.

Stephenie West was among those from Spartanburg. She said Nurse Manager Kathi Dalton had been in constant contact with Taylor since Ms. Fernandez was reported missing.

“As soon as we got there this morning, Kathi rounded the troops up,” Ms. West said.

Taylor thanked officers who had put in long hours in the investigation of Ms. Fernandez’s disappearance and murder and thanked SLED for its assistance.

Though Good is in custody, the investigation is not over, Taylor said. He urged anyone with information in the case — including someone who might have been afraid to come forward in the past — to call the sheriff’s office at 429-1612 or Crime Stoppers at 427-0800.