A 21-year-old man has been arrested and charged with the murder of his 20-year-old wife who disappeared from their home in Pendleton, South Carolina, on August 1. Brandon Barnes was arrested and charged with one count of murder in connection to the death of his wife, Jessica Barnes, reported WYFF4.
According to authorities, Brandon allegedly enlisted the help of their two roommates, Kendall Mims and Victoria Tippett, in moving Jessica’s body after her death. They were charged with “accessory after the fact, Obstruction of Justice and Misprision of a Felony.”
Jessica Barnes was last seen on August 1 at her home in Pendleton, South Carolina, which 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 kilometres away in a woody area near Twin Lakes in Pickens County on September 20.
The Pickens County Coroner’s Office determined the cause of death to be “asphyxiation by strangulation”.
During a press conference on Wednesday, Pendleton Police Chief Robert Crosby said, “Details surrounding the disappearance were vague and material and personnel from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) were required and needed for this continued investigation.”
Chief Crosby confirmed that Jessica Barnes’ mother had claimed several times that she received text messages from an account in Jessica’s name after her disappearance, but she didn’t believe they were sent by her daughter. On September 20, police searched the home where the couple lived with their roommates, the NY Post reported.
Pendleton Police collected “clues, articles of clothing and electronic devices” from the residence. Their investigation also led police to the car of one of the couple’s roommates at a location regularly visited by both Jessica and Brandon Barnes. Phone records allegedly showed that Brandon Barnes had driven the vehicle to the location, though it wasn’t immediately clear which roommate’s car the police traced.
During their investigation, authorities discovered remains in nearby Pickens County, which were not immediately identified, according to a statement from Pendleton Police this week. On October 1, a Pickens County coroner confirmed that the remains belonged to Jessica.
After the remains were found, Pendleton Police, along with SLED, interviewed Jessica’s husband, Brandon Barnes, and the couple’s two roommates, Kendall Mims and Victoria Tippett, according to an official statement. Following these interviews, police charged the three with several offences including a murder charge for Brandon. Both women allegedly confessed to their involvement, according to their affidavits.
Victoria Tippett is also accused of failing to report a crime, despite “witnessing” the killing and having several opportunities to inform the police, as outlined in the affidavits. Police further alleged that Mims failed to report the crime, even though she had been told about the killing.
“There were some issues with her and her husband. They were having the typical marital disputes, argumentative, and then, she just left,” Chief Crosby said earlier.