CLEARWATER, Florida, (NEWS CENTER) -- A Florida man is charged with murder for killing a woman originally from Maine.

Thomas Frederick was arrested Wednesday in Clearwater after a nearly two week investigation. Police say he raped and stabbed 29 year-old Adrianne Robert to death. Her roommate found her dead in their apartment in the early morning hours of July 14th.

Robert's family lives in Greene, where she grew up. Her father, Mark Robert, describes Adrianne as a driven and optimistic young woman. She moved to Florida a few years ago to pursue her career as a graphic artist. Her friends have told him that she always stood by them.

"Always gave people encouraging words," Robert told NEWS CENTER. "If they had a goal they wanted to achieve in life and they said, 'I'm giving up,' she would always tell them, 'No, no you keep on going. You're going to get there.'"

Police say Adrianne Robert went to a bar with her roommate on the night of July 13th. They struck up a conversation with a stranger, 23 year-old Thomas Frederick. Robert walked home without her roommate, and video surveillance showed a black man walking with her. When Robert's roommate got home two hours later, he found her dead in the bathroom. Thomas Frederick was arrested Wednesday in Clearwater after a nearly two week investigation.

Her father is just grateful Frederick won't be able to hurt anyone else.

"There are a lot of young ladies out there that he could have harmed in the future and he's not going to. He's not going to anymore. >

A small comfort for this grieving father.

"He took my little girl," Robert said. "I'll never have her again. Pictures don't replace the person. But I'll always carry her in my heart the rest of my life."

Adrianne Robert's remains will be flown here to Maine. The family will hold a memorial service on Saturday in Lewiston.