A deathbed confession led investigators to find the bodies of a mother and daughter who were killed 24 years ago, according to multiple reports.
Larry Webb was always suspected of being involved in the disappearance of Susan Carter and her 10-year-old daughter Alex Carter, according to Metro News. The two were reported missing back in 2000, at the time they lived with Webb while Susan was undergoing a custody battle, according to the Associated Press (AP).
Nearly two years ago, North Carolina State Police executed a search warrant at Webb’s home and found evidence that seemed to confirm their initial suspicions, Metro News reported. They found a bullet embedded in the wall, and DNA results later confirmed blood on the bullet belonged to Alex Carter, FBI Senior Supervisory Resident Agent Tony Rausa said at a press conference, the outlet noted.
Numerous law enforcement agencies collaborated on the case to gather more evidence and even had enough to obtain an indictment against Webb. However, he was in a nursing home at the time and in poor health, Metro News reported. Investigators spoke with him, and Webb reportedly wanted to come clean about the incident.
“It was a detailed, undeniable, unconflicted confession and it aligned exactly with the investigative efforts and the evidence collected,” Raleigh County Prosecutor Ben Hatfield said, the outlet noted.
Webb reportedly told Hatfield he argued with Susan Carter after finding out cash was missing from his home and believing she stole it. He allegedly shot her during the argument, he then told investigators “that he believed he had to shoot Alex Carter to avoid detection for having killed Susan Carter,” the AP reported.
“Once he had killed both individuals he stored them in the basement of the home where he cried himself to sleep that night. Over the course of the next two nights he dug a shallow grave on his property,” Hatfield reportedly said.
A man on his deathbed confessed to killing a mother and daughter 24 years ago, leading to the recovery of their remains this week, officials say. https://t.co/jGu89TvL5o
— NBC News (@NBCNews) April 24, 2024
Webb reportedly told police where he left the bodies, but because of his poor health and fading memory, he couldn’t be certain of the exact location. He was reportedly brought to the scene, where he was still unable to provide any information to locate the remains. The backyard of his home was then dug up over three days before the discovery was made.
Webb was recently moved from his nursing home to one at a correctional center. He reportedly died the same day the bodies of the victims were discovered. (RELATED: Suspect In Murder Of Two Teens Allegedly Confessed ‘No Less Than 5 Times’ To Wife And Mother During Jail Calls).
“In a twist of fate, we were able to get him incarcerated and transferred to Mount Olive. He was sent to Montgomery General Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 10:30 a.m. Later that same afternoon we were able to find Susan and Alex Carter,” Hatfield reportedly said. “A bit of a poetic ending that not even I could write.”
“Larry Webb was on his death bed and was looking to meet Jesus. These guys did an excellent job at getting that confession out of him,” Rausa reportedly said.
“It’s kind of a sad day, but also a happy day because I can bring my baby home,” Rick Lafferty, Alex Carter’s father, said at the press conference, the AP noted.