Prosecutors in Florida are in the process of upgrading the charges 23-year-old Dartmouth resident Desiree Tedder could face in that state to first degree murder as the process to return her to the state moves forward.

Tedder, accused of murdering 23-year-old Drulmauert Mims as he slept in her grandmother’s home in Pensacola, Florida, is currently being held without bail in Massachusetts on a fugitive from justice warrant. The warrant was issued after Florida prosecutors charged her with second degree murder on June 28.

She did not waive extradition at a court hearing in July 5, which began a lengthy formal process to compel Massachusetts officials to return Tedder to Florida. According to Assistant State Attorney Greg Marcille, his office completed the process of filing for a governor's warrant, and it was approved by Florida Governor Rick Scott.

The request was sent to the governor’s office in Massachusetts for review on July 13, Marcille said. Once approved by Massachusetts officials, paperwork will be sent to the Bristol County House of Correction where Tedder is being held to process her return to Florida.

Marcille said he expects to see Tedder back in Florida in the next several weeks. The deadline to return her to the state is September 26, 90 days from the date of her arrest.

As that process continues, prosecutors are also preparing to present the case to a grand jury for a first degree murder indictment. Marcille anticipates that could occur “very shortly.”

First degree murder carries a penalty of a mandatory life sentence or the death penalty in Florida. Under Florida law, prosecutors must decide whether they will pursue the death penalty within 45 days of Tedder’s arraignment in Florida.

Once a grand jury indictment is handed down, the case will be presented to a panel of five officials within the State Attorney’s office, who will determine if the death penalty should be pursued. Once she is arraigned, the decision will be filed in court.

Tedder is accused of beating Mims with a crowbar, stabbing him, and suffocating him while he slept in her grandmother’s home, according to court documents. The accusations come from Lizmary Rodriguez, also 23, who was allegedly in the bedroom with Mims at the time, she told police.

She alleged Tedder moved Mims' body into a trash can, placed it outside, and later buried it in the backyard of her grandmother's Pensacola home, and cleaned the room of blood and a bloodstained mattress, according to court documents.

Mims’ body was discovered buried behind the home on June 28.

A man Tedder texted after the murder told police Tedder forced Rodriguez to help clean up and move the body or she would be killed too, but he said Rodriguez did not have anything to do with the murder.