Deputies arrest Adelanto man in death of girlfriend's kitten

By Mike Cruz

Posted: 06/26/2009 07:31:22 PM PDT

A 19-year-old Adelanto man was arrested this week on suspicion on animal cruelty after he threw his girlfriend's kitten against a wall during an argument with her, Sheriff's deputies say.

The kitten, estimated to be between eight and 10 weeks old, suffered severe head trauma and a fractured leg. It had to be euthanized at a local veterinary clinic, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.

Deputies responded to a call of animal cruelty at 11:30 p.m. Wednesday at an apartment in the 18300 block of Montezuma Street, in Adelanto. Upon investigation, deputies learned that Dontay Dorell Gray had been in an argument with his girlfriend.

"Gray became so angry that he picked up his girlfriend's kitten, and threw it from the bedroom into the kitchen, causing the kitten to slam against the wall," according to a Sheriff's statement.

Gray was arrested on suspicion of animal cruelty and booked into Victor Valley Jail. Bail was set at $25,000.

Gray has a separate case in Victorville Superior Court where he faces charges of battery with serious bodily injury, according to the Sheriff's Department.

Man kills wife; day later, himself Suspect commits suicide as police close in on him

By SAMMY FRETWELL
sfretwell@thestate.com

A man authorities believe killed his estranged wife and wounded her mother in Columbia late Thursday, killed himself Friday as state and local police moved in to arrest him.

Omar Kenyatta Gordon, a 32-year-old restaurant worker, fled to Williston in Barnwell County after Thursday’s 11 p.m. shooting and was staying at a relative’s house, Columbia police said.

He shot himself after indicating to a team of law enforcement agents that he did not want to come out of the home, Columbia police spokesman Brick Lewis said.

“He had fled to that location at some point between the shooting and when we tracked him down,” Lewis said. “He was there overnight, we believe.”

Earlier Friday, police had issued notice they were looking for Gordon. The State Law Enforcement Division’s fugitive tracking team then traced him to the home in Barnwell County.

Police were seeking Gordon in the shooting death of 25-year-old Raschun Jessica Gordon. She died in the front yard of her grandmother’s home at 2928 English Ave. from multiple gunshot wounds, authorities said.

Richland County Coroner Gary Watts said the shooting occurred while a child slept inside. Columbia police said the shooting involved a domestic argument.

Raschun Gordon’s mother, whose name was not available, also was shot but was in a Columbia hospital Friday with non-life-threatening injuries, Watts said.

Authorities believe the 6-foot, 181-pound suspect was waiting for Raschun Gordon with a handgun outside her grandmother’s home Thursday night.

“He ambushed them as they came outside,” Watts said.

Gordon had a criminal record and had spent time in jail, but it was not immediately known what the offenses were.

“He was a bad guy,” Lewis said. “He wanted do her harm.”

Accused man: 'I obviously killed my wife'

by Martha Kang

Originally printed at http://www.komonews.com/news/49130847.html

FEDERAL WAY, Wash. -- When investigators found Cheri A. Stewart's body in her home, it was in "an advanced stage of decomposition," according to the statement of probable cause.

The body was found lying, face-up, in the bathroom, just steps away from the blood-stained living room and near the bedroom where her husband lay, alive.

Kermit M. Stewart, a.k.a. Michael K. Stewart, told police his wife had been dead for five days. He said he didn't alert authorities because "it looked like he 'beat the hell out of her,'" the document said.

"I pushed her and she cut her lip, and we had a DV (assault charge) three years ago," he told detectives.

Kermit Stewart said he and his wife got into an argument on Tuesday, June 16. She began throwing things at him and told him "she wanted to be with their dead dogs," according to the statement.

He said he then grabbed his 63-year-old wife and flung her to the ground, causing her to hit her face. He also kicked her in the buttocks, he told investigators.

Cheri Stewart began bleeding heavily but carried on, smoking cigarettes and sipping from a wine glass, her husband said. Kermit Stewart added wife had been on a blood thinner ever since she suffered a heart attack three years earlier and as a result, was at risk of bleeding to death even from a minor injury.

The 63-year-old man said as she sat,

Cops say man killed mother-in-law and 4-year-old

By Andy Ross
Staff Writer

Published: Friday, June 26, 2009 11:15 AM CDT

The manhunt for a suspect wanted in the gruesome murders of his mother-in-law and her 4-year-old granddaughter came to an end Tuesday evening in Shelby.

Harvey Lewis, 42, of Rosedale was apprehended by a Shelby police officer around 8:40 Tuesday night, according to reports from Bolivar County Sheriff Mack Grimmett.

Lewis has been charged with two counts of capital murder in the shooting deaths of 44-year-old Michelle Walker and Walker’s granddaughter Janiya Williams, both of Darling.

The details surrounding the abduction and murder of the two victims are heinous, according to law enforcement officers who worked the case.

“I’ve been a sheriff 29 years and this is one of the worst crime scenes I’ve ever seen,” said Grimmett in a statement to reporters.

Tuesday morning around 5:45 a.m. the bodies of Walker and Williams were discovered just north of Duncan, Miss. near the Hushpukena bridge. A FedEx delivery driver passing down the highway spotted the scene and alerted authorities.

Both victims had been shot in the head execution style and were found lying near a Silver S-10 pickup truck. Their hands had been bound with plastic ties according to reports, and Williams’ body was laying on top of her grandmother’s.

The ordeal began earlier Tuesday around 12:35 a.m. when both victims were kidnapped from a home located at 550 Washington Street in Darling.

Witnesses reported seeing the abduction take place and Lewis was then identified as the suspect, said Quitman County Sheriff Oliver Parker.

According to reports, Lewis began the rampage in response to a domestic dispute with his wife.

Lewis is currently in custody at the Bolivar County Correctional Facility. His bond has been denied, according to authorities.

In addition to the capital murder charges, he also faces two counts of kidnapping in Quitman County.

Former Miss Kauai killed in stabbing at Indiana home

By Kaylee Noborikawa

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jun 25, 2009

Eleven days before she planned to move back home, former Miss Kauai Angela Warnock was stabbed to death in front of her 8- and 12-year-old daughters in Indiana, her brother said yesterday.

On Sunday her estranged husband, Joseph Warnock, entered his former home in Brownsburg, Ind., through a patio door about midnight and allegedly stabbed his wife to death with a steak knife.

She was in bed with her two daughters at the time. Police said the girls ran into a closet and hid there for at least 15 minutes while their father was in the home.

"Daddy stabbed Mommy," the 12-year-old said in a 911 call once her father left the house, the Associated Press reported.

Joseph Warnock, 41, was arrested Monday following a manhunt in the neighborhood and was being held without bail in Hendricks County Jail. He was charged yesterday with murder and invasion of privacy, and for violating a temporary protective order issued to his wife.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges but is restricted from having any contact with his children, according to WISH Channel 8.

The couple was married for 13 years and both attended Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis. Angela Warnock, Miss Kauai 1990, received a temporary protective order on May 27 against her husband for herself and her children, according to records filed in Hendricks County Superior Court.

Last Thursday, she was granted a two-year extension of the order and a day later filed for divorce, according to records. Her husband opposed the order and fought for possession of their home and custody of their children, but the court denied his appeal, records said.

Angela Warnock's brother, Benjamin Miller, said in a telephone interview from Indiana yesterday that his sister planned to move back to Kauai with her two daughters on July 2.

"Her stuff is already arriving at my parents' house on Kauai," he said.

Angela Warnock's family flew to Indiana yesterday and is staying with friends and relatives to watch over the two girls.

"Angie was stunningly beautiful on the outside, but she was the most radiant, beautiful person on the inside and anyone that ever met her just loved her," said Miller. "She cared about everybody so much and everyone who knew her here is heartbroken."

Angela Warnock was born in Indiana but attended St. Catherine's School in Kapaa as a child. According to Miller, she was a "typical Kauai girl" who enjoyed going to the beach and horseback riding.

In 1990 she entered her first beauty pageant and won the title of Miss Kauai, which inspired her to model in Milan, Italy, for a short while. Two years later, Hurricane Iniki devastated the island and Angela moved to Indiana, where she met her husband.

Angela became a hands-on mom and was passionate about coaching her daughter's basketball team, said Miller.

"She treated those girls like princesses. She would do anything for her little girls, which is why she was going to come back to Hawaii to get a better life for them," said Miller. "We're going to do everything we can to make sure the girls have the life that Angie wanted them to have."

Judge decides whether prosecutors can seek death against man accused of killing pregnant fiancee

Diane Turbyfill

March 5, 2009 - 7:07PM

An accused killer could face the death penalty in his upcoming trial.

Michael Mead and his attorney, Rick Beam, listened in court Thursday afternoon as a judge approved the prosecutor's request to seek the death penalty.

"We understand what their contentions are. We obviously dispute them," said Beam. "The question is, is there any evidence to support their claim?"

Mead, 40, of Fort Mill, S.C., is charged with first-degree murder, rape, robbery with a dangerous weapon, burglary and arson in Lucy Johnson's July 16 slaying. Johnson, 31, was a nurse in Kings Mountain.

Police arrested Mead Jan. 9. Gaston County District Court Judge Michael Lands denied Mead a bond during his first court appearance Jan. 12, then denied it again during a follow-up hearing Jan. 16. But Superior Court Judge Richard Boner granted Mead a $650,000 bond Feb. 23.

Mead made bail Feb. 26. We walked out of the Gaston County Jail amidst a swarm of TV cameras and reporters. He gave no comment and refused to discuss the case again on the phone Thursday night.

"I can't comment. You'll have to talk to Rick," Mead said.

Mead did, however, speak briefly to TV crews as he left court Thursday, according to The Gazette's news partner, WSOC. When asked if he still maintains someone else committed the crime, Mead responded:

"We're not allowed to comment," he said. But then, "Yes, we definitely still believe that."

Gaston County police say Mead shot and killed the 31-year-old nurse and mother of two twice in the back of the head, stole the diamond solitaire engagement ring he had given her, then set her house ablaze to hide his crime. Her young daughter and infant son were not at the 4844 Hidden Meadow Court home outside of Cramerton when the fire began. Johnson was 15 weeks pregnant at the time of her death, according to an autopsy.

Beam said Thursday's stint in court was totally expected.

The defense attorney said he would represent his client as he does all of them. The threat of the death penalty will not change the process.

"Of course there's extra pressure," Beam said. "When I get these cases, I know what the stakes are."

Mead's case will now enter a discovery phase followed by an arraignment, Beam said. Trial preparations will then begin.

"It's a case like any other. Obviously the stakes are higher for both sides in the case," said Beam.

Prior to Mead's release, bail bondsmen Ned Polk placed an electronic monitory device on Mead's ankle. Polk is responsible for monitoring Mead's comings and goings and reporting them to the district attorney every three days.

Diane Turbyfill can be reached at 704-869-1817.

Police: Man shot, killed teen ex-girlfriend in murder-suicide

01:05 PM Mountain Standard Time on Thursday, June 25, 2009

Marissa Wingate / 3TV

MESA – A Mesa teen was shot and killed in her own front yard and police say her ex-boyfriend is responsible.

MURDER-SUICIDE

June 25th, 2009

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According to investigators, the ex-boyfriend showed up at Ashley Dewitte's home near Gilbert and Brown roads Wednesday afternoon. He asked her to step outside. That's when neighbors reported hearing several gunshots.

"I counted them," one neighbor told 3TV. "There were five, and then I heard screaming."

Ashley's father was home at the time. He ran outside to find his daughter had been shot to death. The ex-boyfriend, Eric Serdechny, 20, was also dead, having turned his gun on himself.

Police believe the couple, who dated for less than six months, had recently broken up. There reportedly was no history of violence.

Investigators said the shooting happened very quickly and there was no argument before the bullets flew.

Dewitte, 18, graduated from Mountain View High School just a few weeks ago.

Man pleads not guilty in Mother’s Day stabbing death

By Jeff Pope (contact)

Tue, Jun 23, 2009 (2:50 p.m.)

David Frostic

A man accused of stabbing his girlfriend to death on Mother’s Day was arraigned in District Court today.

David Frostic pleaded not guilty to the charge of first degree murder with a deadly weapon.

Judge Kevin Williams set a trial date for Sept. 8 in District Court Department 6.

Metro Police officers responded to a domestic violence call on May 10 in the area of West Desert Inn and Fort Apache roads. They reported finding blood flowing from the front door of a residence in the 9500 block of Swan Bay Drive.

Police found a woman lying in the doorway dead from apparent stab wounds.

Inside the house, police found Frostic, 46, who was arrested.

The Clark County Coroner's Office said 45-year-old Robin Lesley Jenkins of Las Vegas died of several stab wounds. The death was ruled a homicide.

Frostic is being held in the Clark County Detention Center without bond.

Husband killed wife, in-law, before self

06/16/2009

Associated Press

An autopsy report indicates that a prominent Lubbock orthodontist shot his wife and mother-in-law with a rifle before using the weapon on himself.

The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reported in its Tuesday editions that Christopher Anderson left a suicide note near the bed where he and his wife were found slain. The bodies were found Jan. 19.

Elaine Anderson's body was found face down on a bed next to her husband's, autopsy reports stated.

The note was at the foot of their bed. Alice Johnson, Elaine Anderson's mother, was found lying in her bed in a home next door to the Anderson's home. Each woman had been shot twice in the head with a .22-caliber rifle. The orthodontist died from a single shot into his mouth.

Man found guilty of strangulation murder of former girlfriend

By Staff reports

Mon Jun 22, 2009, 08:50 PM EDT

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MALDEN - An Everett man has been found guilty of murdering his former girlfriend

, Norma Dorce Gilles, 41, of Lynn, Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone informed the public Monday.

Lesly Cheremond, 48, of Everett, was found guilty of first degree murder and aggravated rape on Monday, June 22, by a Middlesex Superior Court jury. He was sentenced to concurrent terms of life in prison by Middlesex Superior Court Judge Jane Haggerty.

“This defendant has been found guilty for the brutal strangling of Norma Dorce Gilles and then for callously disposing of her body,” District Attorney Leone said. “He will now spend his life in jail for these disturbing crimes. We continue to offer our heartfelt condolences to the victim’s family. This is another stark example of the tragedies that have impacted far too many families as a result of domestic violence.”

Gilles had last been seen on February 13, 2008 at a hair salon where she worked at 374 Salem St. in Malden. A missing persons report was filed by her brother on February 23 with Lynn Police. Malden Police discovered Gilles’ car on February 27 on Faulkner Street in Malden and subsequently towed the car to the Police Department. Malden Police notified State Police assigned to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office and a joint investigation was commenced. Gilles’ body was found in the trunk of her car.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner completed an autopsy and ruled the victim’s death a homicide caused by smothering of the mouth and nose and strangulation.

Cheremond worked in an adjacent business to the hair salon that Gilles was employed. Cheremond and Gilles had an argument on the day before she was last seen. Several hours after Gilles was last seen leaving the store, Cheremond came into Gilles’ salon and told a worker that he was taking Gilles handbag to her.

Inside Cheremond’s store, investigators found a key to Gilles’ car as well as trash bags that matched the type of bags that Gilles’ body was found wrapped in. Cheremond also gave inconsistent statements to friends and authorities during the weeks she was missing, including that she was on vacation, had left in a UHaul truck, and that she may not be back.

Cheremond was arraigned in Malden District Court on March 3, 2008 on a charge of first degree murder before District Court Judge Matthew Nestor, at which point he was ordered held without bail. He was indicted on a count of first degree murder on April 10, 2008, and arraigned on that charge in Woburn Superior Court on April 14, at which point he was ordered held without bail.

The trial team in this case was led by Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Keeley and included paralegal Patrick Demers and victim witness advocate Anne Foley.

Sumner County Man Accused Of Murdering Girlfriend

Posted: June 22, 2009 08:26 PM

PORTLAND, Tenn. - Investigators have charged Chad Foote with killing Cyndi Thompson at their home at the Portland Courtyard Apartments.

Shock, grief and disbelief are all of the emotions felt by family members of a murdered young mother. The apartment where they used to visit her was a crime scene.

Police discovered 23-year old Cyndi Thompson beaten to death in her own bedroom. Cyndi had seven brothers and hours after her death, brother Randy can barely speak.

"I am in shock," said Randy. "She was a nice girl, did everything she could for him, I don't understand why he'd do that."

The boyfriend and suspect in the case, Chad Foote, was charged with beating her to death in their bedroom.

"He was a lazy no good for nothing bum, who free loaded off her," said Randy.

Family members said the couple had a rocky five year relationship, police said several times they had been here to check out heated fights between the pair.

Investigators did not have to look far for Foote, hours after the murder he was already in jail.

"As a result of them arresting him this morning from leaving the scene of an accident and a DUI charge, he was in custody at the Davidson County Jail this morning," said Al West, Portland Police.

Family members are still working out plans for a funeral. Chad Foote remains behind bars and is charged with First Degree Murder.

Police Say Death Result of Domestic Violence

(ABC 6 NEWS) -- An Albert Lea woman is dead after what police say was an act of domestic violence.

Police and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension are now investigating this case.

"I'm torn apart I lost my best friend in the world who was like a sister to me," says Heather Bigelow.

Heather Bigelow came to the freeborn county courthouse Monday to get some answers.

"It still remains up to the coroner to come back with the cause of death, but at this point by all appearance it does appear to be a homicide," say police.

Police were alerted that something was wrong in the Rainbow Terrace trailer park Sunday.

"Sunday morning at about 11:30 a male subject came into LEC with a family member and between the two of them they want to report that the party thinks he might have killed his girlfriend,” police say.

38-year-old Jody Morrow was found dead shortly after.

"She was confined to a wheelchair which makes an added tragedy to it," say police.

Police say they believe it was an act of domestic violence.

"We can tell you the victim appeared to be bludgeoned to death," police say.

Police have arrested Morrow's estranged boyfriend, but no one has been charged.

According to court documents, the suspect lived with Morrow for three and a half years.

During that time morrow petitioned for several restraining orders against the suspect.

Court documents show she reported abuse including smacking, stomping, beating, and being threatened for her life.

"Had been removed from the residence a month ago, there was an active restraining order out against him," police say.

We also checked into the suspect's past.

We found 19 criminal complaints against him, including burglary and disorderly conduct dating back to 1998.

The charges in this apparent homicide are still unclear until the coroner releases the autopsy results.

The suspect is being held in freeborn county jail.

Exactly how Morrow died is still under investigation.

Police say they do not believe a gun was used, but wouldn't give any details on a weapon.

They're now waiting for autopsy results.

Authorities tell us, there's an average of one homicide every seven years in Albert Lea.

Man goes on trial in death of Pa. cheerleader, 16

1 hour ago

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A trial has started for a Pittsburgh-area man charged with fatally stabbing a 16-year-old high school cheerleader who was his former girlfriend.

Defense attorney Robert Stewart says 20-year-old John Mullarkey Jr. may have been affected by an acne drug that has been linked to suicides and depression.

Mullarkey is charged with criminal homicide. He's accused of stabbing Demi Cuccia (KOO'-shuh) 16 times in August 2007.

Cuccia was a cheerleader at Gateway High School in Monroeville, a suburb about 15 miles east of Pittsburgh. Mullarkey had graduated from there.

Police say Mullarkey fatally stabbed the girl before trying to cut his own throat.

A jury was seated Tuesday for the trial, which is expected to last just a couple of days.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Man charged with fatally shooting fiance

Posted: June 21, 2009 09:33 AM

Updated: June 22, 2009 04:13 PM

Douglas Harold McMickle (Photo courtesy of Gaston County Jail)

STANLEY, NC (WBTV) - A Dallas man who is charged in the death of a Gaston County woman will be in court this afternoon.

Gaston County Police have charged Douglas Harold McMickle, 40, with first-degree murder in the death of his fiance, Teresa Ann Dickerson.

She was found shot to death Saturday evening at a home in Mt. Holly on Old N.C. Highway 27.

Investigators said McMickle and Dickerson had been dating for several months.

A brief investigation resulted in McMickle's arrest. He is being held in the Gaston County jail without bond.

Man kills daughter, self on Father's Day

June 22, 2009

By Gary Grado
Tribune

A Gilbert man killed his 3-year-old daughter and then himself Sunday, according to Mesa police.

The bodies of the man and the girl, killed from apparent gunshot wounds, were found in Coconino County, near Jacob Lake.

According to Sgt. Ed Wessing, Mesa police spokesman, the man’s father called Mesa police, worried that his son, who had just gone through a divorce, was suicidal.

Wessing said the girl’s mother had filed a police report Friday when the man hadn’t returned with the girl.

“All the family knew was he was camping somewhere,” Wessing said.

The man made calls to his family, making them worried about his state of mind.

Investigators were able to track his phone to a section in northern Arizona and he finally told a relative he was at Jacob Lake, which is near the Grand Canyon.

The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office sent a deputy, who found the bodies.

Man sentenced to life in prison for bludgeoning estranged wife

	Comments June 23, 2009 BY RUMMANA HUSSAIN Criminal Courts Reporter A 57-year-old Harwood Heights man was sentenced to life in prison today for bludgeoning his estranged wife to death after stalking her on a commuter train as she made her way home from work. Earlier this month, James Pender pleaded guilty to first-degree murder charges, admitting he knocked Therese Pender to the ground, striking her head repeatedly with a hammer in the March 16, 2005 attack in west suburban River Forest, Cook County prosecutors said. Therese Pender, 41, had filed for divorce and filed an order of protection against her husband months before she was killed. She also told River Forest police she needed extra protection when she was alerted by Metra employees that she was being followed by James Pender in January of 2005. The legal secretary expressed fear for her life when she filed for the order of protection because she said her husband threatened to kill her if she ever took such action against him, according to court documents. The jobless man spent most of his days playing online card games and often told Therese Pender she gave him “bad mojo,” court documents indicate. When she got a book on spousal abuse, James Pender allegedly said, “Abuse? I’ll show you abuse,” and punched her in the mouth. He also forbade her to take the medication prescribed to her by a psychiatrist, court records said. James Pender was convicted of domestic battery against his former wife, Marion, in 1996, according to court records. Marion Pender also filed a criminal order of protection against him that same year.

Indiana man sought in wife's killing arrested

17 hours ago

BROWNSBURG, Ind. (AP) — An Indiana man arrested Monday night was accused of stabbing his estranged wife to death while his two daughters, 12 and 8, hid in a closet. Authorities said the older girl called 911 and told a dispatcher, "Daddy killed Mommy."

Joseph L. Warnock, 41, was arrested about 9 p.m. in the same neighborhood of Brownsburg where he had once lived with his wife, Angela Warnock, 38, said Lt. Roger Call of the Hendricks County Sheriff's Department.

The wife was found stabbed in her bed at home on Sunday night. Investigators say the couple was going through a divorce and she had a protective order requiring him to stay away from her and their daughters.

The killing came two days after the wife obtained a two-year extension on the order.

Detective Sgt. Charles Morefield said Warnock forced his way into the home through a patio door just before midnight Sunday and went to a bedroom where his wife was sleeping with the girls.

Police said that when he began stabbing his wife, the girls ran into a closet and hid there for at least 15 minutes while their father was in the home.

When he left, the 12-year-old girl called 911 and told a dispatcher "Daddy stabbed Mommy."

His arrest came after police scoured the area Monday around the couple's home just west of Indianapolis. Instead of driving to the subdivision, police said Warnock parked his car in a church parking lot and walked across a field to get to the house.

Warnock was being held in the county jail in Danville. It was not immediately known if he had an attorney.

Sullivan Co. woman strangled; man held

By Vic Ryckaert
vic.ryckaert@indystar.com

Indiana State Police today arrested a man in the strangling death of a 34-year-old woman in Sullivan County.

Gregory L. Hale, 34, faces a murder charge in the death of Jennifer Peak, Indiana State Police spokesman Sgt. Joe Watts said in a statement.

Hale was taken into custody at Greene County General Hospital and was held without bond at the Sullivan County Jail, Watts said.

Police found Peak’s body in the bedroom of a mobile home in the 1800 block of East County Road 500 South at about 1 a.m., Watts said.

A small fire was burning and the mobile home was filled with smoke when police arrived, Watts said.

Preliminary results of an autopsy today determined that Peak had been strangled to death, Watts said.

---

Victim was strangled, police say

By Adam Folk | Staff Writer

Tuesday, June 23, 2009 4:54 p.m.

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An Augusta woman who was found dead in the trunk of her car last week at an Alabama rest stop was strangled, autopsy results show.

The body of Jessica Lynn Murphy, 30, was located June 16 by authorities in Conecuh County, south of Montgomery, at a rest stop off Interstate 65.

Ms. Murphy, an employee of The Augusta Chronicle advertising department, is believed to have been killed by her estranged husband, Scottie Murphy, authorities said. Mr. Murphy was found in the front seat of the car dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot to the head.

Richmond County Sherriff’s Investigator Shane McDaniel said a Conecuh County coroner determined that Ms. Murphy died of asphyxiation caused by a rope or cord.