According to police, a Virginia man killed his aunt and then drove her body across state lines, setting fire to the vehicle and pushing it over a mountainside.
Old Dominion state authorities have obtained a warrant to arrest 29-year-old David Wayne Stoneburner for the murder of 44-year-old Saundra Lee Moore. In Kentucky, he is additionally charged with first-degree arson and abuse of a corpse.
According to a news release from Kentucky state police, troopers arrived around 3 p.m. Sunday to a complaint of a vehicle “fully engulfed in flames” on State Road 160 in Lynch, a city about 160 miles southeast of Lexington. Troopers arrived and discovered a Toyota off the road and down a mountainside. Police discovered a woman, subsequently identified as Moore, dead inside.
Moore was killed 15 miles away at her house in Appalachia, Virginia, according to additional research. According to a Facebook post by the Wise County Sheriff’s Office, deputies arrived to the property in question and “evidence emerged suggesting a violent incident that resulted in Moore’s death”.
“Based on information obtained throughout the investigation and a detailed interview with the suspect, the incident has been confirmed as a homicide,” the constable said.
Stoneburner offered detectives a statement “outlining the events that occurred,” but officers would not elaborate, citing an ongoing investigation. Deputies also did not explain Moore’s death or provide a reason for the killing. Moore was slain at her home early Sunday after a “physical altercation” with Stoneburner, according to Kentucky State Police.
Stoneburner allegedly drove Moore’s automobile to the location where he would eventually abandon her after killing her.
“Upon arriving at Lynch Mountain, Stoneburner placed Moore in the driver’s seat, intentionally set the vehicle on fire, and put the vehicle in motion causing it to travel over the embankment,” according to a release from the state police.
The defendant is currently at the Harlan County Detention Centre.