A suspect is accused of killing his aunt during a domestic dispute in Virginia, driving the body to Kentucky and pushing the vehicle containing the deceased woman’s body down a mountainside after setting the vehicle on fire.
The incident occurred on Sunday when Kentucky State Police said troopers responded to a report of a fully engulfed vehicle off Hwy 160 on Lynch Mountain in Harlan County. One person was found inside the burned Toyota passenger car.
The victim, identified as 44-year-old Sandra Moore, of Virginia, was pronounced deceased at the scene by the Harlan County Coroner’s Office.
The Kentucky State Police investigation showed that Moore had been involved in a physical altercation early Sunday morning with her nephew, 29-year-old David Stoneburner, at their residence in Appalachia, Virginia, a town of 1,800 residents in southwestern Virginia near the Kentucky/Virginia border.
Evidence suggests that after the dispute, which state police said led to Moore’s death, Stoneburner transported Moore’s body in her vehicle to Kentucky.
“Upon arriving at Lynch Mountain, Stoneburner placed Moore in the driver’s seat, intentionally set the vehicle on fire, and put the vehicle in motion causing it to travel over the embankment,” state police said.
David Stoneburner was arrested in Harlan County on Sunday evening and has thus far been charged with first-degree arson and abuse of a corpse. Authorities in Virginia are investigating the murder, as additional charges are forthcoming related to Moore’s murder.
Stoneburner was lodged in the Harlan County Detention Center on a $250,000 full cash bond.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
