Former NFL player Kevin Ware has been charged with the murder of his girlfriend, Taylor Pomaski, more than a year after she vanished from a house party.

Kevin Ware

Taylor Pomaski

Harris County District Attorney’s Office announced on Thursday that Ware, 41, would be charged with her murder as well as tampering with a corpse.

Pomaski, 29, was last seen alive at a house party on April 26 in the Houston suburb of Spring, Texas, last year.

Her remains were found in December in northern Harris County, and identified three months later, with police naming the former tight end as a suspect in her disappearance.

Ware will face a minimum of 15 years to life in prison if he is found guilty of the charges.

The former Washington and San Francisco player had been suspected of murdering Pomaski after he was arrested in June on unrelated charges.

Prosecutor Lacy Johnson, who is handling the case, said that the court process is ‘just the beginning’.

She added: ‘We encourage anyone who has knowledge about what happened between Kevin and Taylor to come forward.’

Authorities suspected foul play in Pomaski’s disappearance soon after she went missing, with prosecutors identifying Ware as a suspect in June 2021.

The former Washington Redskins tight end is believed to be one of the last people to interact with Pomanski before she disappeared from a party at the home they shared.

Ware, who has not played in the NFL since 2004, was out on bond on an unrelated charge at the time.

He is currently being held in custody on unrelated gun and drug charges in Montgomery County.

Ware played in 16 NFL games – 11 for Washington in 2003 and five for San Francisco in 2004. He caught four passes for 26 yards.

He played college football for the Washington Huskies and had 42 catches for 463 yards and five touchdowns as a senior in 2002.

Eric Zulegar, a friend and former boyfriend of Pomaski’s, said he had been in communication with her in the weeks leading up to her disappearance.

He said: ‘She was in danger, she was in trouble. There was violence, she referenced a gun being pulled on her. She was very scared, very nervous.’

The couple, who had been dating for a year, had reportedly been fighting at the house party before her disappearance in April.

Tim Miller, the founder of the missing-person search group Texas EquuSearch, reported that the confrontation had turned violent.

Ware, who has a criminal record dating back to 2007, was arrested by US Marshals in June after he failed to appear for supervision.

He had been arrested and charged about a week before Pomaski’s disappearance after he was allegedly found with cocaine, methamphetamine, and a loaded AK-47.

During his June arrest, he had reportedly been involved in a vehicle chase with police where he drove at more than 115mph.

The ex-NFL player was found to be in possession of both weapons and drugs, according to Fox26.

Previously, Ware’s lawyer claimed that he had no prior knowledge of him being considered a suspect in the disappearance.

Coby DuBose did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.