Man accused of killing his aunt, driving her body across state lines, and setting the vehicle on fire

APPALACHIA, Va. (TCN) — Authorities recently arrested a man on suspicion of killing his aunt in Virginia before driving her body to Kentucky, where he set the vehicle ablaze.

According to Kentucky State Police, on April 20, troopers responded to a report of a vehicle fully engulfed in flames in Harlan County. State police found a Toyota off the roadway and down the mountainside with 44-year-old Sandra Moore of Virginia trapped inside. The Harlan County Coroner pronounced her deceased at the scene.

State police detectives determined Moore and her nephew, 29-year-old David Stoneburner, had a physical fight at their home in Virginia, which led to the victim’s death.

According to the Wise County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia, investigators believe Stoneburner transported his aunt’s body across state lines to Kentucky. Once they arrived at Lynch Mountain, authorities allege Stoneburner put Moore’s body in the driver’s seat before setting the car on fire and putting it “in motion” so it would “travel over the embankment.”

Stoneburner was arrested in Kentucky and booked into the Harlan County Detention Center on charges of abuse of a corpse and first-degree arson. The Wise County Sheriff’s Office announced that a murder warrant has also been secured within their jurisdiction.

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