Deathbed confession leads to bodies of mom and daughter missing for 24 years, cops say
The bodies of a long-missing mother and daughter were found after their accused killer confessed, bringing the 24-year cold case to a close, West Virginia State Police said.
Suspect Larry Webb “suffered a medical episode” and died hours before authorities discovered the presumed remains of Susan and Natasha “Alex” Carter at his home in Beckley on April 22, WSAZ reported, citing police.
Alex was 10 when she and her mom disappeared in August 2000, authorities said, according to the station. Webb reportedly confessed to their killings earlier this month.
“A bit of a poetic ending that not even I can write,” Raleigh County Prosecutor Ben Hatfield said at an April 23 news conference, as reported by the Associated Press.
McClatchy News reached out to West Virginia State Police for more information April 24 and didn’t receive a response.
Webb was arrested in connection to the child’s death in April and was jailed without bond, authorities told reporters Tuesday, April 23, the AP reported.
A search of his home 18 months ago turned up a bullet found lodged in a bedroom wall, police said, WSAZ reported, and investigators said DNA tests confirmed blood on the bullet was Alex’s.
Confronted with this evidence, Webb acknowledged killing Susan Carter during an argument over missing money, police said, according to WVNS. He then shot and killed her 10-year-old daughter.
Webb told police he kept their bodies in his basement before burying them in a shallow grave on his property, WVNS and the AP reported, citing authorities.
The state medical examiner’s office will conduct the autopsies, police said.
Beckley is about a 60-mile drive southeast from Charleston.
This story was originally published April 24, 2024 at 11:33 AM with the headline "Deathbed confession leads to bodies of mom and daughter missing for 24 years, cops say."