Deathbed confession leads to a solved 24-year-old cold case of a missing woman and 10-year-old girl

BECKLEY, W.Va. (WSAZ/Gray News) – A man’s deathbed confession solved a 24-year-old cold case of a missing woman and her 10-year-old daughter.

Authorities said the remains of Susan and Natasha “Alex” Carter were found in the backyard of a home in Beckley, West Virginia, on Monday.

Carter and her daughter, Alex, were last seen Aug. 8, 2000.

On Tuesday, West Virginia State Police said the lead suspect in the disappearance, Larry Webb, had confessed to killing the mother and daughter and burying the bodies in his backyard.

Authorities said 18 months ago, a search warrant was obtained for Webb’s home.

During the search, members of the FBI’s Evidence Recovery Team and West Virginia State Police Crime Scene Investigative Unit recovered a bullet embedded in the wall of Alex’s bedroom inside Webb’s home. The bullet found embedded in the wall behind the baseboard was collected and sent to the FBI lab where DNA results confirmed the blood on the bullet belonged to Alex.

Webb was indicted for Alex’s murder in October 2023, but was not taken into custody until April 2024.

Authorities said Webb confessed to the murder of Carter and Alex in early April, according to authorities.

Webb told authorities that he shot Carter during an argument over cash inside the home that he believed Carter had spent.

He told investigators after shooting Carter, that he “knew he had ruined his life forever” and believed he had to shoot Alex to avoid getting caught for Carter’s death.

Webb said he wrapped their bodies in bed linings and placed them on the floor in the basement of the home as he dug a shallow grave in the wooded area of the backyard, according to authorities.

Authorities said a landscaper who lived just a few doors down from Webb’s home assisted in the recovery operation this week.

The bodies of the mother and daughter were found on Monday, the third day of the recovery operation, according to authorities. It was just hours after Webb was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Investigators said Webb, who had been imprisoned at Mount Olive Correctional Complex “suffered a medical episode and was pronounced dead at Montgomery General Hospital” at 10:30 a.m. on Monday.

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