MATHEWS COUNTY, Va. (Scripps News Richmond) — Two suspects are in custody after authorities discovered a man and woman dead in a burning home last week in rural Mathews County, Virginia.
When deputies and firefighters arrived at the scene Friday night, they found flames coming from the front of a home. First responders entered the burning home and pulled out two people, but both were pronounced dead at the scene, according to a press release.
(L) Carol Cormier Jr. and (R) Lacey Ann Horsley (Mathews County Sheriff’s Office)
Authorities said both victims, identified as 54-year-old Chad Wayne Ashford and 56-year-old Audrey Elaine Hudgins Mowrar, appeared to have been shot multiple times.
Investigators credited the public for their tips as well as digital evidence and license plate readers for tracking the suspects to Newport News.
The suspects were identified as Carol Cormier Jr., 33, and Lacey Ann Horsley, 18. Cormier is facing multiple charges, including two counts of second-degree murder. Horsley is facing charges of accessory after the fact and conspiracy to burn/destroy a residential home.
According to investigators, the victims were shot and killed on Thursday, and then Cormier and Horsley returned to the scene of the crime on Friday to burn the house and destroy evidence.
Cormier’s mother, Tina Darby Kelley, told WAVY that she knew the victims personally. Kelley said the defendants were dating at the time of the murders, and that her son told her he shot Ashford during an argument, then killed Mowrar because he “didn’t want any witnesses,” reported WAVY.
Kelley further told WAVY that she believes the argument may have been motivated by a “potentially intimate relationship” between Cormier and Ashford.
This story was originally published by Scripps News Richmond, an E.W. Scripps Company.
