A 21-year-old man has been arrested and charged with the murder of his 20-year-old wife, who disappeared from their Pendleton, South Carolina, home on August 1st. Brandon Barnes was arrested and charged with one count of murder. WYFF4 reported that there is a connection to the death of his wife Jessica Barnes.
Authorities said Brandon enlisted the help of two of Jessica’s roommates, Kendall Mims and Victoria Tippett, in moving her body after her death. They were charged with “supply after the fact, obstruction of justice, and false conviction of a felony.”
Jessica Burns was last seen on August 1 at the Pendleton, South Carolina, home she shared with her husband, Brandon, and two roommates, Mims and Tippett.
She was not reported missing until September 10, when her mother, Cecilia Varvara, contacted the Pendleton Police Department. Her body was discovered on September 20, several miles away in a wooded area near Twin Lakes in Pickens County.
The Pickens County Coroner’s Office determined the cause of death to be “asphyxia due to strangulation.”
At a press conference Wednesday, Pendleton Police Chief Robert Crosby said, “The details surrounding the disappearance are vague and this continuing investigation requires supplies and personnel from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED). It was,” he said.
Chief Crosby acknowledged that Jessica Burns’ mother claimed several times after her disappearance that she received text messages from an account in Jessica’s name but did not believe they were sent by her daughter. Ta. On September 20, police raided the home where the couple lived with a roommate, the New York Post reported.
Pendleton police recovered “clues, clothing, and electronics” from the residence. Their investigation also led police to a location that Jessica and Brandon Barnes regularly visited and the car of one of the couple’s roommates. Phone records allegedly show Brandon Burns drove the car to the location, but it wasn’t immediately clear which roommate’s car police followed.
During the investigation, authorities found a body in nearby Pickens County, which was not immediately identified, according to a statement this week from the Pendleton Police Department. On October 1, the Pickens County coroner confirmed that the remains were Jessica’s.
After the body was discovered, Pendleton police, along with SLED, interviewed Jessica’s husband, Brandon Burns, and the couple’s two roommates, Kendall Mims and Victoria Tippett, according to an official statement. Following these investigations, police charged the three with several crimes, including murder against Brandon. According to the affidavit, the two women admitted to being involved.
Victoria Tippett was also accused of “witnessing” the killing and failing to report the crime despite multiple opportunities to do so, as outlined in the affidavit. has been accused. Police also claimed that Mims failed to report the crime despite being informed of the killing.
“She and her husband had some issues. Typical marital conflicts, they got into an argument and then she left,” Chief Crosby said earlier.
