FAYETTE COUNTY, Ga. (TCN) — Officials recently arrested a 39-year-old man at a Louisiana motel after he allegedly killed his wife and buried her remains in a shallow grave behind the couple’s Georgia home.
The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office received reports of a couple arguing in the early morning hours of Aug. 20. The following day, Kenneth Hardin Jr. reportedly told relatives he had killed his wife “in self-defense,” lit her remains on fire, and planned to flee town.
In a press conference posted by WAGA-TV, Fayette County Sheriff Barry Babb said Kenneth Hardin’s father initially reported the homicide. Hardin reportedly handed over his bank accounts and other financial responsibilities to his dad because he was “going to be on the run.”
Deputies responded to Hardin’s home on Merlin Court, where they found evidence corroborating the father’s claims. Babb said authorities immediately noticed that there had been “somebody with some blood loss and that somebody had attempted to clean the crime scene.”
According to the sheriff’s office, detectives located Kenneth Hardin’s vehicle in Covington, Louisiana, and worked with local law enforcement agencies to apprehend him. The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office SWAT team members and patrol deputies responded to a motel, and Kenneth Hardin exited one of the rooms. Authorities took him into custody, and he was booked into the St. Tammany Parish Correctional Center as a fugitive as he awaits extradition back to Georgia.
Around the same time, the sheriff’s office said detectives discovered a shallow grave in a wooded area behind the home. Investigators located the partially burned remains of Kenneth Hardin’s wife, Carrie Hardin, underneath debris, and reportedly found evidence of gunshot wounds.
According to Babb, the victim leaves behind two children, who are in the care of family members.
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