Virginia — 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.
He is also charged with first-degree arson and abuse of a corpse in Kentucky. According to a press release from Kentucky state police, troopers responded around 3 p.m. Sunday to a report 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, later identified as Moore, dead inside.
Moore was killed 15 miles away at her home in Appalachia, Virginia, according to additional investigation.
According to a Facebook post by the Wise County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to the home 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 deputy said.
Stoneburner gave detectives a statement “outlining the events that occurred,” but cops did not elaborate, citing an ongoing investigation.
Deputies also did not explain Moore’s death or provide a motive for the killing. Moore was killed at her home earlier Sunday after a “physical altercation” with Stoneburner, according to Kentucky State Police.
Stoneburner allegedly drove Moore’s car 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 in the Harlan County Detention Center. It’s unclear whether he has an attorney.
