Remains believed to be missing girl and mother found after man on deathbed confesses to cold case killings, West Virginia police say
Remains believed to be that of a woman and her daughter who have not been seen in nearly 24 years were found at a southern West Virginia home on the same day that the girl's alleged killer died while imprisoned, state police said. The suspect confessed on his deathbed to shooting and killing Susan and Natasha "Alex" Carter, who had been missing for over two decades years, over financial troubles, officials said at a press conference on Tuesday.
Susan Carter and her daughter have not been seen since Aug. 8, 2000. Members of the state police and the FBI found what were believed to be their remains Monday at the home of suspect Larry Webb, West Virginia State Police Capt. Robert Maddy said in a statement.
Webb, who was in his 80s, suffered a medical episode on Monday at the Mount Olive Correctional Complex, where he was being held without bond after having been arrested earlier this month in connection with the girl's death. Webb was pronounced dead at a hospital six hours before the remains were discovered, the statement said.
At the time they went missing, Susan Carter, 41, was in a contentious custody battle with Natasha's father and had told him he would never see his 10-year-old daughter again, according to an FBI flyer from back then. Carter and her daughter were apparently living in Webb's house when they disappeared, news outlets reported.
In December 2021, the FBI Pittsburgh office announced a renewed push and reward in an effort to find answers in the decades-old case. The $10,000 reward was increased to $20,000 in September 2023.
Police executed search warrants at Webb's home in 2022 and 2023 and authorities said they recovered additional evidence in the investigation.
During one of those searches, Webb told news outlets he did not know what happened to the girl and did not know when he last saw her.
"I don't remember," Webb said. "I have dementia. I can't say exactly."
Raleigh County Prosecutor Ben Hatfield told WVNS-TV that Webb allegedly had noticed his finances were out of order and that a violent domestic situation ensued.
Officials said he shot Susan Carter because he had money go missing, and thought she had spent a lot of money, CBS affiliate WOWK-TV reported. Authorities said Webb shot and killed her daughter "to avoid detection for having killed Susan Carter."
Webb was indicted last October on a murder charge in the girl's disappearance and held at a medical facility, according to WVVA-TV. He was then arrested on April 12 after being medically cleared for incarceration, Hatfield said.