Another suspected femicide appears to be the answer behind the mysterious disappearance of a 42-year-old woman from Sardinia.

According to the Daily Mail, local authorities arrested Francesca Deidda’s husband, Igor Sollai, who was last seen alive at the end of May.

Investigators concluded that 43-year-old Sollai murdered Deidda and then used her mobile phone for weeks, making her circle believe she was still alive.

Deidda disappeared on May 30 from San Sperate, a town in Cagliari, southern Sardinia. After that date, messages were sent from her phone to friends and family, stating that she needed time alone to deal with the end of her relationship and did not want to talk to anyone on the phone. The call center where the 42-year-old worked also received a strange resignation email after her disappearance.

Authorities believe these messages and emails were written by Sollai after he killed his wife and hid her body. His purpose was to cover up his crime and pretend that Deidda was still alive.

Although Deidda’s cellphone has not been found, “traces left by the suspect on the internet” led to his arrest, according to local media.

Deidda’s brother, along with a colleague, jointly reported her missing on May 30. When Sollai was asked by police why he did not report his wife missing, he said he thought it was unnecessary because her brother had already done so. Police quickly ruled out the scenarios of Deidda voluntarily leaving the marital home or committing suicide, and focused their investigation on her troubled relationship with her husband.

Sollai told authorities that his wife left to be alone for some time to “think,” according to local reports. However, evidence shows that their relationship was in a deep crisis before she disappeared.

Although Deidda’s body has not been found, Sollai was arrested on charges of murder last week and remains in jail. He maintains his innocence. “There is no evidence that this is a homicide. And to date, we have seen no evidence that our client used his wife’s phone or sent the email,” said the 43-year-old’s lawyer, Carlo Demurtas, to local media.

Demurtas campaigned for Sollai to be released or placed under house arrest pending trial, but a judge ruled yesterday that the trucker would remain in custody.

The couple’s home, where they had lived together since 2012, as well as their cars, have been seized by police.