Car Mechanic Charged with Capital Murder After Alabama Woman Vanishes and Her Body is Found

Police – Accident – Death – Obituary News : A woman has tragically gone missing after her last known visit to a car mechanic’s shop in Alabama. The distressing turn of events has led to the mechanic being charged with capital murder. Michelle Hough, a 54-year-old woman, visited her trusted car mechanic, Kenneth Lawhorn, on the afternoon of November 5, according to Russell County Sheriff Heath Taylor. Hough had previously sought Lawhorn’s services for her vehicles, and on this occasion, they were working together to find a suitable vehicle for her son.

Surveillance footage from the shop shows Hough entering Lawhorn’s body shop, but she was never seen leaving, as confirmed by Sheriff Taylor during a news conference on November 10. In a puzzling twist, Lawhorn was seen leaving the shop with Hough’s car attached to a tractor trailer. He drove off with her vehicle and returned to his shop without it, raising suspicions.

Authorities received a report of a burning vehicle on the side of the road in Seale, Alabama. The following morning, Hough’s husband reported her missing. During the investigation, it was revealed that the burnt vehicle belonged to Hough, although her body was not found inside it. Initially, Lawhorn was charged with theft and arson related to the burned vehicle as authorities continued their search for Hough.

As the investigation progressed, law enforcement officials developed evidence suggesting that Hough had met a tragic fate, and Lawhorn had disposed of her body. Sheriff Taylor stated, “We do have enough evidence to prove that Mr. Lawhorn is responsible for the death of Ms. Hough,” during the news conference held just hours before Hough’s body was discovered. Subsequently, the charges against Lawhorn were upgraded to capital murder kidnapping and capital murder robbery.

Sheriff Taylor appealed to the public for assistance in locating Hough, highlighting Lawhorn’s deceptive behavior and combative nature. Lawhorn had lied about the circumstances surrounding Hough’s disappearance, initially denying that he had towed her car. However, it was later confirmed that the vehicle in question was indeed Hough’s. Additionally, the video surveillance memory card, which contained footage from Lawhorn’s business, mysteriously went missing.

On November 10, investigators made a grim discovery, locating Hough’s body five days after she was last seen. Her remains were sent to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences for an autopsy to determine the cause of death, which has not yet been disclosed as of November 13.

Russell County, where these tragic events unfolded, is situated approximately 80 miles east of Montgomery.

In other news:

– A murder suspect in Indiana was apprehended while attempting to flee after his grandmother’s body was found, according to local police.
– North Carolina law enforcement finally identified the remains of a man who vanished years ago while going to the movies.
– A construction worker in California stumbled upon a woman’s body in a secluded location, prompting an investigation by local authorities.
– The body found in the Gulf of Mexico has been identified as that of a US Air Force pilot instructor, according to Florida law enforcement..