3 charged after disappearance of Graniteville man
WINDSOR, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - After human remains were found in Windsor, three men were arrested and charged with destruction, desecration or removal of human remains, according to the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office.
The remains were found in a shallow grave near the 300 block of Wendy Lane around 2:27 p.m. Friday.
According to Aiken County Detention Center records, Thomas Guinn, 30, of the 3000 block of Stuckey Loop, Donald Britton, 51, and Cody Wooten, 37, both of the 100 block of Britton Road, all face charges in connection to the removal of human remains.
The identity of the remains hasn’t been released.
However, the family of John Thomas Belote, 39, fears they’re his remains.
Aiken County Coroner Darryl Ables said the remains have been presumptively identified as Belote’s, although he’s waiting for full confirmation.
According to an arrest warrant, investigators believe Wooten, Guinn and Britton with the help of one other person removed the remains of an unidentified person.
The warrant states Wooten, Guinn and Britton moved the remains from an unmarked shallow grave at 916 Windsor Road to a similar grave at 379 Wendy Lane.
The first shallow grave is around two minutes away from Britton Road and the second location is around a 10-minute drive.
As the remains were being moved, they were torn into two pieces and treated in a “disrespectful manner,” according to authorities.
Belote’s family says he was last seen June 28 around the Windsor and Graniteville area.
According to the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office, Cierra Belote, Belote’s daughter, reported him missing June 30.
According to her report, when she last spoke to her father, he told her he got into an argument with Britton. Belote allegedly told other friends and family he was either going to see his ex-girlfriend, Kelsey Ledford, or meet Ledford’s father, Britton, in Windsor.
Since that conversation, the family has not heard from Belote, according to the daughter.
Cierra says it’s always been a bumpy road for her father.
“He always struggled to kind of get his life together, if that makes sense. He was incarcerated about 90% of his life, but I do know 100% that he wanted to get out of this town,” she said. “Unfortunately, he was never able to leave this town or have the life he wanted.”
“He had a bad feeling. He went out there and no one had heard from him,” she said.
“It hurt. I mean, it hurts to think about my dad that way. No matter what he had done or no matter what had went down, he definitely did not deserve to die like that,” said Cierra.
Belote says she doesn’t know how her father died but the coroner told her he was burned.
“I just keep thinking about his last few moments and what he had to go through at the end,” she said.
Britton was listed as a suspect on the missing person report. He was arrested July 12 on drug and gun-related charges.
The charge regarding the remains was added Monday, according to inmate bookings. He remains in jail without bond.
Guinn was granted a $15,000 bond at a hearing Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Wooten was granted a $10,000 personal recognizance bond after being arrested Tuesday.
The family told us it was infuriating to see that two men were able to get bond with these charges, especially one of them on a personal recognizance bond. They say it feels like a slap in the face.
The Aiken County Sheriff’s Office says the Aiken County Coroner’s Office will release the identity of the remains when the investigation into the identity is complete.
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