Landlord tricked into burying victim (Thought they were burying a dog)

[MuffyBee]

http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/crime/Landlord-tricked-into-burying-victim

Landlord tricked into burying victim
Thought they were buring a dog, but it was a man

(Video and map available at link above)

Updated: Wednesday, 09 Dec 2009, 10:46 AM CST
Published : Wednesday, 09 Dec 2009, 10:46 AM CST

HOUSTON (CNN) - What was supposed to be a dog's grave has turned out to be a crime scene for a murder investigation. Police outside Houston said a landlord may have been tricked into helping a suspected killer bury an alleged murder victim.

It all started when Ronald James Dewars went missing on Nov. 27. Fort Bend County Deputies figured out Dewars was last seen trying to sell his car near Coldspring, the place where they later found his body.

"Sheriff deputies found the missing car along Highway 156. However, Dewars was no longer selling his vehicle: James Michael McLaughlin was. McLaughlin happened to arrive at the time deputies were investigating the car. He led police on a short chase that ended with his arrest.

McLaughlin was taken into custody on an unrelated, outstanding felony warrant. However, when hearing about the arrest, McLaughlin's landlord started thinking about a strange incident.

"Mr. McLaughlin requested the landlord to dig a hole on his property," said Bill Burnett, District Attorney of San Jacinto County. "The reason being that Mr. McLaughlin told him he has a St. Bernard Great Dane mix dog that he wanted to bury."

The landlord used his backhoe to dig the hole, just yards away from McLaughlin's trailer. Authorities said McLaughlin covered the body with plywood and without knowing it, the landlord covered the hole with dirt.

James Michael McLaughlin and Rebecca McLaughlin face murder charges. However the motive and timetable for the crime remains unknown.

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.fortbendnow.com/2009/12/09/42672
Woman Charged With Missing Man’s Murder May Have Had Previous Relationship With Victim
 December 9th, 2009  |  by  Jamie Mock | Published in Crime Reports, News  |  4 Comments

The woman charged with the murder of 52-year-old Fort Bend County resident Ronald James Dewars may have had a previous relationship with him, according to San Jacinto County Criminal District Attorney Bill Burnett.

 

James Michael McLaughlin, 49, and his wife Rebecca McLaughlin, 48, have both been charged with murder after police found Dewars body buried on the property where they rented a trailer. The couple married in October.

 

On Nov. 27 Dewars was reported missing by his girlfriend, who said he went to San Jacinto County to sell his black 2007 Shelby Mustang. Fort Bend County detectives discovered that James Michael McLaughlin was trying to buy the car, and contacted San Jacinto County on Dec. 2.

 

When police arrived at the couple’s rented trailer in the 200 block of Stephens Creek Circle located near Coldspring on Dec. 3, the Mustang was parked outside with a for sale sign on it. While police were there, James Michael McLaughlin and Rebecca McLaughlin pulled up in their Volkswagen Jetta, saw police, and took off.

 

After a short chase, the car was stopped and James Michael McLaughlin was arrested on an outstanding warrant from Burleson County for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. Rebecca McLaughlin was released and went to stay with relatives in Fort Bend County.

 The landlord of the property asked police what was happening, and was told they were investigating a missing person. The landlord told police that James Michael McLaughlin asked him a few weeks earlier to use his backhoe to dig a hole so they could bury a Great Dane/St. Bernard mix dog that died.

 

Several days later, James Michael McLaughlin told him to cover the hole back up. The landlord told police he looked in the hole, but all he saw was plywood and pieces of carpet.

 

A cadaver dog brought in from the Texas Department of Corrections on Dec. 4 indicated that a body was buried in the hole, and San Jacinto County officials called in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Evidence Recovery Team. On Dec. 5, a body was found buried about 5 feet under.

 

An FBI team searching the inside of the couple’s trailer found Dewars’ driver’s license and credit cards, and an autopsy positively identified the body as Dewars.

 

James Michael McLaughlin was served with the murder warrant while still in San Jacinto County Jail, and Rebecca McLaughlin was arrested on the charge and remains in Fort Bend County Jail. Both are being held on a $500,000 bond.

 

Burnett says the investigation is ongoing, and the two could end up being charged with capital murder, which can carry the death penalty.

[Nut44x4]

September 22, 2011 9:53 am

The capital murder trial of a couple accused of killing a Fort Bend County man and burying him in their backyard will begin on Monday, Sept. 26, in the San Jacinto County Courthouse.

James McLaughlin, 50, and Rebecca McLaughlin, 49, were indicted in March 2010 for the December 2009 murder of Ronald “Spider” James Dewars.

 ::snipping2::
http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/ranch/news/trial-begins-next-week-for-couple-accused-of-killing-man/article_5850ac74-2f59-56ee-902e-63c64847b2c6.html

[Nut44x4]

can't find another update