On October 31, 2023, the Dothan Police Department responded to a welfare check at an apartment in the 600 block of South Lena Street. The person reporting was worried they had not had contact with the person living in the apartment. Officers arrived and tried to make contact. Their efforts to contact Allen were unsuccessful at the front door. When officers went around the rear of the apartment, they noticed the backdoor was unsecured, and they entered the apartment.
Allen was not in the apartment. Based on the circumstances surrounding Allen’s disappearance, officers requested an investigator. Investigators initiated a missing persons investigation to find the occupant of the apartment. On November 6, 2023, investigators were notified by the Bay County Sheriff’s Office that the missing person, Marisa Allen (32) of Dothan, was found the day before (November 5) in the bay near Lynn Haven, FL. Bay County Sheriff’s Office investigators charged a male acquaintance of Allen’s, Santeni Green, with one count of Tampering with Physical Evidence. Since November 6, 2023, Green has been held with no bail in the Bay County Jail.
After Allen’s body was located, officers obtained a search warrant for her apartment and found evidence to suggest that foul play was involved. On March 11, 2024, forensic analyses were completed, which provided enough evidence to charge the suspect, Santeni Deangelo Green (41) of Panama City, Florida, with the murder of Allen. No further information will be released due to the ongoing investigation. Green will remain in the Bay County Jail until released. Once released, Green will be extradited to Alabama.
William E. Benny, Chief of Police