TAZEWELL COUNTY, VA (WJHL) – The Commonwealth’s Attorney for Tazewell County said a man was charged Tuesday in the murder of Danielle Pruett, the 29-year-old woman who was found dead in a wooded area off of Route 720 near Bluefield, Va. on March 18.

Commonwealth’s Attorney for Tazewell County Michael Dennis said Shaun Matthew Wakefield, 32, of Tazewell County, Va., was charged with the first-degree murder of Pruett Tuesday.

Wakefield was already being held in Southwest Regional Jail in Tazewell on an unrelated charge of larceny and was also charged with altering a drug screen on March 18.

He has been scheduled to be appear in Tazewell County General District Court on those charges.

Wakefield was also on probation for convictions out of Alexandria, Va. for burglary, larceny, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and drug charges.

Dennis said after the first-degree murder charge was placed Tuesday, Wakefield remained in jail without bond.

According to Dennis, a preliminary finding from the autopsy revealed Pruett died through blunt force injuries and blunt force trauma.

“Danielle Pruett’s death is a horrible tragedy that has affected our entire county,” Dennis said. “It is my intention to prosecute Mr. Wakefield for this senseless crime to the fullest extent of the law.”

Tazewell County Sheriff Brian Hieatt added that the sheriff’s office “wanted the public to know that charges have been made. This man is locked up right now. He has been charged, so the public doesn’t have to worry about him out here doing anything else to anybody.”

According to Hieatt, Pruett’s family was notified of Tuesday’s news conference and said they will not be making any statements at this time.

An earlier release sent from the Tazewell County, Va. Sheriff’s Office said Pruett’s family called 911 on March 17 and said she had been missing since around 2 p.m. that day.

Pruett’s body was discovered by law enforcement agencies in a remote area right off of Route 720 near Bluefield, Va. on March 18.

The Tazewell County, Va. Sheriff’s Office, Bluefield Police Department and the Virginia State Police, alongside the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, jointly conducted the investigation.

The investigation remains open and ongoing at this time.Copyright 2016 WJHL. All rights reserved.