COLLETON COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – On August 21, investigators from the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office searched an area off Cumberland Street in Walterboro in reference to Ashley Murdaugh, according to Tony Jones with the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office.
Murdaugh had been reported missing by her family on August 8, 2018. The search was based on information obtained from more than a dozen interviews conducted by CCSO Investigators. A K-9 search and rescue team was brought in to assist Investigators, Jones added.
At approximately 12:30 pm, investigators located the buried remains of a young, white female. The remains have been identified as Ashley Murdaugh through the assistance of the Coroner’s Office and family members. At this time, the manner of death is unknown and pending the results of an autopsy, Jones stated.
Four arrests were made following the discovery of Ashley Murdaugh, according to authorities with the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office. The suspects arrested are Martina Wolf, Cynthia Caron, Alfred Taylor Jr., and John Dunigan, authorities stated.
During the conference, authorities stated that Martina Wolf, Cynthia Caron, and Alfred Taylor Jr. have been charged with murder in the first degree. John Dunigan was charged with accessory-after-the-fact to homicide.
It was stated that the house belongs to Caron, mother of Martina, which were both already in jail before the charges. They were arrested on August 7, for aggravated assault charges following an unrelated incident.
Authorities state that more arrests are pending at this moment. Investigators were given false information to mislead them in the case.
Martina Wolf and Cynthia Caron were alleged residents of the home and that Alfred Taylor Jr., was the boyfriend to Wolf, according to authorities. It was stated that her body was found approximately 250 feet in the wood line near Cumberland Street.
