MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – A North Carolina man is in police custody in connection with the murder of a Myrtle Beach woman whose body was discovered Monday morning in a motel room.
Horry County Deputy Coroner Tamara Willard says the victim is 20-year-old Colee Muirhead, of Myrtle Beach.
According to Myrtle Beach Police Captain Joey Crosby, officers were called to the Beachcomber Ocean Front Inn, located at 1405 S. Ocean Blvd, around 1:16 a.m. Monday after receiving reports that a woman had died. Officers found Muirhead dead with a gunshot wound when they arrived and started searching the room for witnesses and evidence. That is when crime scene officers were called to take over, Capt. Crosby confirms.
Police confirm Wednesday that Chandler Ari Dunmeyer is charged with murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime. Dunmeyer was identified as a person of interest and was detained by police Tuesday night. The alleged killer was transported to Myrtle Beach Wednesday morning and will have a bond hearing before a Circuit Court Judge, but the time of that hearing was not released.
A statement released by the 82nd Airborne Public Affairs Office at Fort Bragg confirms Dunmeyer’s military connection:
“We can confirm Chandler Ari Dunmeyer is a soldier at Ft. Bragg. The 82nd airborne division is cooperating with civilian authorities on the matter.”
The affidavit for Dunmeyer explains how officers linked the man to the murder of the 20-year-old woman.
According to the document, Dunmeyer began exchanging text messages with Muirhead Sunday shortly before midnight. Police say the text messages involved a conversation about a specific amount of money and meeting at the Beachcomber motel.
Police discovered that Dunmeyer withdrew the same amount of money discussed in the text messages from his personal banking account and is then captured on surveillance cameras driving a motorcycle up to the Beachcomber motel. Investigators determined that Dunmeyer recently purchased the motorcycle that matched the description of the one used by Muirhead’s alleged killer.
Video shows Dunmeyer entering room 203 of the Beachcomber, staying for a brief time, and leaving the hotel. City cameras show Dunmeyer leave Myrtle Beach on the motorcycle.
Police say no one else entered the room where Muirhead’s body was found after Dunmeyer left until the victim’s body was discovered and police were called.
The affidavit does not give detail into the text messages nor does it mention for what the money would be used.
Myrtle Beach police say officials at Fort Bragg and the Fayetteville Police Department assisted in the investigation.
The Myrtle Beach Police Department encourages any witnesses with information regarding this murder to contact the dispatch center at (843) 918-1382.
