Drug dealer charged with murder of Fox executive Gavin Smith

LOS ANGELES -- A convicted drug dealer was charged Thursday with the murder of a 20th Century Fox executive whose body was found in October, about 2-and-a-half years after he went missing, reports CBS Los Angeles.

John Lenzie Creech, 42, is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in the May 2012 killing of Gavin Smith.

Smith was last seen between 9 and 10 p.m. on May 1, 2012, leaving a female friend's home in his black Mercedes-Benz. The car was recovered on Feb. 21, 2013, at a storage facility that authorities say was connected to Creech.

A man walking with his dog discovered Smith's remains on Oct. 26, 2014. They were found in a shallow grave in a rural area, according to authorities.

Smith had reportedly met Creech's wife Chandrika while he was in rehab and the two had been involved in a relationship.

Creech pleaded no contest in September 2012 to one count of sale or transportation for sale of a controlled substance, and is serving an eight-year sentence, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. He faces a sentence of 25 years to life in person if convicted of first-degree murder.