Two Aiken County men were arrested this week in connection with the discovery of human remains found in a shallow grave in Windsor.
Thomas Guinn, 30, and Donald Britton, 51, of Windsor, have been charged this week with destruction, desecration or removal of human remains. Britton is also charged with meth distribution, weapon possession and contempt of Family Court.
The remains were found Friday afternoon in a shallow grave near the 300 block of Wendy Lane in Windsor, located near Aiken State Park. The Aiken County Coroner’s Office has not positively identified the victim or confirmed a possible link to the case of missing man John Belote.
Belote, 40, was reported missing nearly three weeks ago by his daughter, and Britton is the father of the missing man’s ex-girlfriend who Belote has violently attacked for years.
Belote told his daughter in their last conversation that he had gotten into an argument with Britton and planned to confront him, according to a missing person’s report.
Warrants say that Britton, Guinn and two other suspects 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.”
Belote has been arrested at least 15 times and is listed on the sex offender registry for committing or attempting a lewd act on a child when he was 20 years old. He has been arrested multiple times for violence against his ex-girlfriend, violating an order of protection and a high and aggravated assault.
In one case, his ex-girlfriend said Belote choked her unconscious and threw her in a bathroom. Later, he allegedly held a knife to her neck and threatened to “chop their son into pieces” while she watched. He once called his ex-girlfriend from jail and threatened her, authorities said.
In December 2021, he was accused of violating an order of protection by chasing his ex-girlfriend down in her car. He said he was upset she wouldn’t violate the order of protection by letting him see his children on Christmas Day. So he forced her car off the road and pointed a rifle at her, but she was able to speed off and meet law enforcement.
Still, his daughter posted a GoFundMe account three days ago, saying her father had died and asking for donations.
“Hi! I am the daughter of John Thomas Belote, who recently lost his life two weeks ago,” she wrote over the weekend. “I am asking for help with the funeral costs to guide my family, my father, and myself into peace and closure.”
On the GoFundMe page, Belote’s daughter said her father cared deeply about his family.
“I cannot even fathom the unimaginable things he went through in the last few moments of his life,” she wrote. “No one deserves the things he endured at his end.”
For his part, Guinn has a violent criminal past with charged of armed robbery, assault & battery, grand larceny, receiving stolen goods, and trespassing, among others.
