DOWNTOWN FORT MYERS, Fla. — Christopher Davis was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Barry Schmalbach, his boyfriend at the time, whose body has still not been found.
Family and friends of Barry Schmalbach say they miss him every day and hope to one day find his remains to give him a proper burial.
Fox 4 Senior Reporter Kaitlin Knapp spoke exclusively with the family after the verdict and sentence:
"I miss him every day, that'll never change," said Rosalie Fallico, Barry's friend. "40 years of a friendship, you don’t stop missing somebody, right?"
"I miss you so much" was the last text message Fallico received from Schmalbach on July 19, 2023 – the day prosecutors say Christopher Davis killed Barry and later buried him.
"Barry deserved justice. Because it was such a heinous crime, because he won't give us the body, he won't tell us where he's buried him," said Fallico. "We will never give up hope that we will recover Barry’s body one day."
Cape Coral Police Chief Anthony Sizemore says they are still pushing to locate him.
"We would still like to find him and give the family closure," Sizemore said. "Obviously for the justice system and the criminal case, we were able to secure a conviction."
Barry's step-mother, Vivian Schmalbach, shares that hope.
"We do hope that one day we will find remains and be able to give Barry burial because he certainly deserves that," she said.
The family had a memorial service for Barry in May 2024, but without his remains.
Family and friends attended the trial, with some even testifying. Miguel Blanco, who first reported Barry missing, was among them.
"We miss him so much, we love him so much, but we know he's looking down on us and we know that he's proud that we all were able to make this happen to him," Blanco said. "He had the heart of gold."
Blanco described the past two years as "heavy and difficult." Emily Scaletta, Barry's sister, had repeatedly said her brother's disappearance was completely out of character. Though they had just reconnected a few years ago, she told Knapp she knew this was unlike him — to just vanish without a trace.
With the guilty verdict now delivered, Scaletta feels some measure of closure.
"We know that this is a huge step and it feels like we concluded such a big chapter in all of this," she said. "Even though Chris has been given the maximum sentence possible, Barry’s still out there somewhere and we know we might not find hum and that truly sucks."
Despite the conclusion of the trial they see as justice, Barry's loved ones continue to grapple with their loss.
"I'm upset about the fact that he was taken from us too soon and selfishly, I just got him back a few years ago and he’s already gone," Scaletta said. "My daughter's not going to have an uncle and she's getting ripped for that as well."
Friends and family say they're committed to keeping Barry's memory alive.
"We're just going to live life and carry his memories with us," said Fallico.
"I do believe he's at peace and I do believe he's watching out after us," Vivian Schmalbach said.
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