WARNING, DISTRESSING CONTENT A man has been arrested and charged with abuse of a corpse after the search for a 23-year-old missing woman in Alabama ended in tragedy
A search for a missing woman has ended in tragedy, after friends and family discovered her body and a man was charged with abuse of her corpse.
Karen Dean-Hollis, 23, disappeared from Georgetown Apartments in Northport, Alabama, on May 8. According to local news station WIAT, Karen’s sister Brandy contacted authorities when she didn’t hear from her. The family made the grim discovery on Saturday (May 16), with Northport police later determining foul play may have been involved.
“I have not felt good,” Brandy said as the heart-rending search for her sister took place last week. “I haven’t eaten, I haven’t been able to sleep.” Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit were brought in to assist in the investigation and worked alongside local police.
Last week they named 44-year-old Randall Lendell Dejourney as a person of interest in the case, according to WBRC.
On Saturday, Karen’s friends and family were scouring an area of Greene County based on information received from an electronic device. It was there they discovered Karen’s remains.
The suspect, Dejourney, was promptly taken into custody and charged with abuse of a corpse.
“The investigation has been a priority for both agencies,” Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Captain Jack Kennedy said of the unit and Northport police.
“Multiple search warrants were executed and a great deal of physical, witness and electronic information was obtained.”
Hollis’s boyfriend, Zackary Slaughter, informed the press he was about 30 minutes away at his home when she went missing.
He said they were exchanging text messages in the hours leading up to her disappearance.
“The last thing she texted me was saying she was going to the store to get a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup,” Slaughter said.
“She texted me at 11pm saying she didn’t feel good. I tried calling her at 4 that morning when I woke up and then at 5am, detectives were knocking on my door.”