Man charged with murder, search for another after body found in shallow grave, SC cops say
One man was charged with murder and there’s a search for another man after a body was found buried in a shallow grave earlier in July, the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office said Monday.
Thomas William Guinn, a 30-year-old Windsor resident, was taken into custody at about 2:40 p.m., after deputies received a tip from a citizen, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
In addition to murder, Guinn was charged with possession of a weapon during a violent crime, according to the release.
A manhunt is ongoing for 35-year-old Aiken resident Michael Dwayne Williams Jr., who’s also wanted for murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, the sheriff’s office said.
The charges are connected to the death of John Thomas Belote, according to the release.
On July 14, the 39-year-old Graniteville resident’s remains were discovered buried in the woods in the 300 block of Wendy Lane, the sheriff’s office said. That’s in the Windsor area, about 15 miles east of Aiken.
Belote, who was reported missing by his daughter on June 30, was identified through DNA testing, according to Aiken County Coroner Darryl Ables. Belote died from multiple gunshots wounds, Ables said.
Arrest warrants said Belote’s body had been torn in two while being moved about 6 miles from an unmarked shallow grave at 916 Windsor Road to a similar grave at 379 Wendy Lane, WRDW reported.
On July 19, Donald Britton and Cody Wooten were charged with accessory to murder and desecration or removal of human remains, according to the sheriff’s office.
No bond was set on either of the charges for Britton, who remains behind bars at the Aiken County Detention Center, jail records show.
Wooten is also being held at the detention center, despite a $5,000 bond being set on the accessory to murder charge, according to jail records. Further information about the desecration charge was not available.
On July 18, Guinn was also arrested on a desecration or removal of human remains charge, and was released after posting a $15,000 surety bond on July 20, Aiken County court records show.
Now that Guinn is back in custody, the sheriff’s office is asking for the public’s help with information that will lead to the arrest of Williams.
Anyone with information about Williams, or his whereabouts, is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 803-648-6811, CrimeStoppers at 888-CRIME-SC or submit an online tip.
“My father had the biggest heart. And the biggest smile to match it. He cared so deeply about his family. I cannot even fathom the unimaginable things he went though in the last few moments of his life,” Cierra Belote said in an online fundraiser she set up to help pay for John Belote’s funeral expenses. “No one deserves the things he endured at his end, but he had a HUGE impact on every single person he came across.”
There was no word on a motive for the killing.
