3 accused in Burke Co. kidnapping face murder charges; no body found

BURKE COUNTY, N.C. — Three people charged with kidnapping a man from Burke County are now charged with murder, even though investigators have not found the victim.

Authorities told Channel 9 that Brittany Arnold, James Combs and Michael May have been charged with murder, while three other suspects are only charged with kidnapping.

The suspects are accused of taking Carlton Edmondson to the Tennessee mountains in January.

Investigators said they have cellphone video that shows the suspects beating Edmondson, who they are still searching for.

“It’s not good to watch the way these people did this young man. I mean, nobody should be treated like that,” Johnson County Sheriff Mike Reece said.

Investigators used the cellphone video to track the exact spot where the beating took place, around Trade, Tennessee. Criminologists from Western Carolina University used cadaver dogs to search a 1-square mile area around where Edmondson was last known to be alive.

Read more top trending stories on wsoctv.com:

Cox Media Group

3 accused in Burke Co. kidnapping face murder charges; no body found

Most Read

Local mom gets kids’ stolen dirt bikes back by tracking them with AirTags

‘Senseless violence’: Two women, baby shot in Salisbury neighborhood

Owner forced to sell shop threatened by massive sinkhole in Mooresville

‘I wanted to scream’: EBT cardholders frustrated with thieves, what’s being done about the crime

These are the jobs paying over $100K in the Charlotte area