WILLIAMSTON, NC — Two men have been charged in connection with the double murder of a Martin County mother and daughter who were found dead in a well in on Thursday.
Jeffrey Ward, 25, of Williamston is charged with two counts of murder. Ward is being held without bond.
Jerrett Ward, 24, of Williamston is charged with two counts of accessory after the fact. He is being held under a $1 million bond after the pair were arrested Saturday afternoon.
Dawn Elizabeth Ward, 40, and her daughter Taylor Lynn Carroll, 14, were found dead in a well on McCaskey Road in Williamston, according to Martin County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Drew Robinson.
Deputies in Martin County said earlier Thursday they had launched a homicide investigation in the case.
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office first said Tuesday that they believed Dawn Elizabeth Ward, and her daughter Taylor Lynn went missing from a mobile home in the Robert Taylor Road area of Everetts on Monday.
At that time, evidence surfaced causing concern for Ward and Carroll’s safety and welfare.
The pair were found inside a well with 30 feet of water in it and the recovery of their bodies took several hours, deputies said.
Dawn Elizabeth Ward’s mother was the last person to see the two victims. When she saw a broken window at her daughter’s mobile home, which is located just steps from her house, she said she knew something was not right.
On Thursday, the search and recovery investigation morphed into a full-blown homicide investigation.
Martin County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Drew Robinson would not comment on the cause of death.
The State Bureau of Investigation is assisting in the investigation.
