RICHMOND —
The bodies of two homicide victims have been returned to their families for burial seven months after they were discovered in shallow graves off Tates Creek Road.
Although neither body has been officially identified by forensics evidence, law enforcement officials believe the remains are those of Sonsaray “Sonsi” Warford and Charles “Chew” Walker, Commonwealth’s Attorney David Smith said. Warford and Walker, who were a couple, were 30 at the time of their disappearances in June 2010.
Daniel Keene, 26, and Matthew Denholm, 28, were charged March 26 with two counts each of murder, kidnapping and tampering with physical evidence in the couple’s deaths. Keene and Denholm are accused of stabbing Walker to death after they were paid by a local drug dealer to kill him, according to preliminary hearing testimony by Richmond Police Detective William O’Donnell.
Warford also was taken from the Keystone Drive apartment she shared with Walker and shot to death, O’Donnell testified.
Denholm’s attorney Bridget Saunders entered a motion March 30 to preserve all physical evidence in the case, including the bodies. District Judge Brandy O. Brown approved the motion.
Family and friends of the couple have attended all of Keene and Denholm’s court appearances, and nearly every time the request to release the bodies for burial has been brought up.
Saunders said in an April court appearance that because the bodies had been in the ground for nearly two years and experienced different degrees of decomposition, she wanted her own expert, Delaware Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Richard Callery, to examine the remains.
Smith said this is the first time in his experience that the bodies of homicide victims have been kept from burial for so long.
“This was a little unusual,” he said. “But every case is different.”
Judge Jean C. Logue lifted the evidence preservation order Friday for the bodies, Smith said.
The next court date in the case is a status hearing at 1:30 p.m. Jan. 16. Keene and Denholm’s trial is scheduled for Aug. 12, 2013.
An obituary for Warford appeared in Tuesday’s Register, and Walker’s obituary is in today’s edition on Page A2. All obituaries can be accessed online at www.richmondregister.com/obituaries.
Crime
Bodies of homicide victims are released to their families
- Crime
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Man arrested Friday after early morning break-in
Richmond police made an arrest Friday in connection with an early morning break-in at Jack’s Cleaners on West Water Street.
Scott Hobbs, 42, of McKee, was charged with first-degree burglary, according to Richmond Police Chief Larry Brock
At 3:25 a.m., a witness reported seeing a man enter and exit the cleaners through a broken window and drive away, Brock stated in a news release. -
Grand jury indicts inmates in jail assault
Two inmates at the Madison County Detention Center were indicted Wednesday on charges related to the beating of another prisoner.
A Madison grand jury indicted 28-year-old Justin Morgan Howell and 26-year-old Lucas Wayne Shanks on charges of second-degree assault, second-degree escape and second-degree persistent felony offenders. -
Berea couple accused of chaining children into bedroom
A Berea couple was charged Wednesday after they admitted to using chains and ropes to lock four children into a room, according to Berea police.
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Passenger arrested on drug charges; driver flees
Berea police arrested 23-year-old Alaina Hammonds of Berea on drug charges after a May 8 traffic stop.
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Arrest made in theft of small safe from Madison Manor
Robert L. King, 37, was arrested May 14 and charged with second-degree burglary in connection with the April theft of a small safe at Madison Manor, according to Richmond police.
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Stabbing trial delayed until September
The trial date for a first-degree assault case has been pushed back yet again, this time because of an eight-month delay in receiving medical records.
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RPD: Woman threw wrench at man, hit back of woman’s head
An East Irvine Street woman was charged Monday with felony assault after she threw an adjustable wrench at a man but instead struck another woman in the head, according to a Richmond police report.
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Women indicted on meth-making charges
A Madison grand jury indicted two women last week on a charge of making methamphetamine in their Turpin Drive apartment.
Richmond police arrested Alison N. Sloas, 25, and Rebecca J. Henry, 38, after they received a complaint April 2 about a strong chemical odor in the neighborhood, according to an RPD news release. -
Man charged in strong-arm robbery outside Blue Moon bar
Police charged 35-year-old Ivan E. Gordon, Sizemore Drive, on Friday in connection with a strong-armed robbery outside the Blue Moon bar.
At 11:06 p.m., an officer met with a man who said he had been assaulted and robbed outside the Blue Moon bar, 525 E. Irvine St., a short time earlier. -
Four charged with illegally occupying a foreclosed home
Police arrested a number of people on burglary charges May 3 after they unlawfully took up residence in a foreclosed home, according to an RPD report.
Police developed information indicating that several people were living in a foreclosed home in in the 300 block of Bowerwood Drive. - More Crime Headlines
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