North Carolina Woman's Body Found Buried On Boyfriend's Property After He Reported Her Missing, Man Charged

A man was arrested after the body of his girlfriend was found buried on his property in North Carolina on Wednesday (May 6).

In a statement Thursday (May 7), the Surry County Sheriff’s Office said the accused, identified as 35-year-old Brandon Thomas Shaw, reported his girlfriend, 28-year-old Sierra Kathleen Henderson Ashburn, missing in the early morning hours Wednesday. He told the officers that the missing woman was residing with him.

Deputies with the Surry County Sheriff’s Office “arrived at the address of 181 Woodville Church Road, Mount Airy, North Carolina in reference to a follow-up investigation on the missing person.” The officers spoke to the accused who provided them details about his girlfriend. The information led them to the victim’s body, which was buried on the property.

“The Surry County Sheriff’s Office reached out to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation to assist with processing the crime scene and the Surry County Emergency Services for assistance with support equipment,” the statement said.

The accused was taken into custody on murder charges and was held in the Surry County Detention Center without bond.

“This incident appears to stem from an apparent domestic argument between Ms. Ashburn and Mr. Shaw. This investigation remains ongoing with continuous law enforcement presence at the scene, and no additional information will be released at this time,” the statement concluded.

The incident comes days after the body of a missing woman was found inside a refrigerator in her boyfriend’s apartment building in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania. The woman, identified as 38-year-old Kristy Jefferson, was reported missing on April 29. Family members told the investigators that Jefferson and her boyfriend, Daryl Jones, were in an abusive relationship. They also revealed the woman was worried about her safety.

On May 4, a smell from an unplugged refrigerator in the second-floor hallway prompted the neighbors to look inside the fridge. They found a corpse inside and immediately alerted the police who arrived at the scene and confirmed that the body was of the missing woman. Following this, the accused was taken into custody. He was charged with abuse of the corpse was held at Allegheny County Jail.