The Aiken County coroner has used DNA to identify the remains from a shallow grave as a missing man from Graniteville.
John Belote, 39, died from multiple gunshot wounds, Coroner Darryl Ables said. His daughter says she was told he was also burned.
On Friday, two of three suspects charged with moving his remains from one shallow grave to another in Windsor – Cody Wooten and Donald Britton – were also charged with accessory after the fact to murder.
Wooten had to be re-arrested since he had already been released on bond for destruction, desecration or removal of human remains. Thomas Guinn, 30, has also been charged with moving the remains.
Investigators have not identified who actually killed Belote nor discussed a motive. But one of the suspects – Britton – is the father of Belote’s ex-girlfriend who was repeatedly abused by Belote as documented in several incident reports.
Belote, 40, was reported missing nearly three weeks ago by his daughter, who said her father had argued with Britton and planned to confront him. She never heard from him again.
Warrants say that Britton, Guinn, Wooten and one other suspect removed the remains of an unidentified victim from an unmarked grave at 916 Windsor Road in Windsor on July 11.
“(They) moved the remains to another shallow unmarked grave at 379 Wendy Lane in Windsor,” a warrant says. “In the process, the remains were torn apart into two pieces and treated in a disrespectful manner.”
