Missing Woman’s Husband Accused Of Killing Her, Getting Roommates To Help Move Body

Weeks after his wife went missing, a South Carolina man was charged with killing her and enlisting their roommates to help move her body.

Brandon Barnes, 21, was taken into custody on one count of murder in connection to the death of his wife, 20-year-old Jessica Barnes, the Pendleton Police Department said in a press release shared with HuffPost.

She was reported missing on Sept. 10 by her mother, and her body was found miles from her home in a wooded area near Twin Lakes of Pickens County on Sept. 20. The Pickens County Coroner’s Office said her cause of death was asphyxiation by strangulation.

The roommates, Kendall Mims and Victoria Tippett, were charged with being an accessory after the fact, obstruction of justice and misprision of a felony.

In an interview with independent news outlet Fits News before police named him as a suspect, Brandon Barnes said he last saw his wife on Aug. 1, but he did not report her missing because he believed she would return.

“I would tell her how much I love her and I wish I never went to work everyday and ignored her,” Barnes told the outlet when asked what message he would like to give her.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Pendleton Police Chief Robert Crosby said Jessica Barnes was last seen at her residence by her roommates on Aug. 2. He said her mother, Cecilia Varvara, reported her missing after she grew concerned that her daughter did not call her on her birthday on Aug. 26.

Varvara told reporters she received text messages from her daughter’s phone before her disappearance that she believes were sent by Brandon Barnes.

The messages said that Jessica Barnes had moved to Michigan with her friends, Varvara said.

In a statement, her family said she was a victim of domestic violence and hoped her story would encourage other victims to seek help.

“With heavy hearts, we humbly return Jessica into the hands of Jesus, where we know she is now safe from her abuser,” the statement said. “Her spirit is renewed, and she is enveloped in the love she longed for so deeply while she was with us on this earth.”

Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) for the National Domestic Violence Hotline.