South Carolina woman Jessica Barnes’ husband and two roommates have been charged in connection with her death, according to arrest warrants.
Her husband, Brandon Barnes, faces a murder charge, according to Pendleton police. The couple’s roommates, Kendall Mims and Victoria Tippett, are charged with being accessories after the fact, obstruction of justice, and failure to report a crime.
The arrest warrants alleged Brandon Barnes strangled Jessica Barnes, while Mims and Tippett assisted in disposing of her body.
“Greg Shore, Coroner, advised that his office is now involved in the investigation of a woman who has been missing since August and her body was discovered in Pickens County, SC,” Anderson County Coroner Greg Shore said Wednesday afternoon.
“Shore advised that initially the investigation was handled by the Pickens County Coroner’s Office where the body was discovered,” Late last night the investigation took a turn and revealed that the victim was apparently killed in Pendleton, SC. Investigators with the Anderson County Office of the Coroner have now been assigned to the case.”
“The victim was reported missing on September 10, 2024, by her mother, stating that she had not been seen since August 1,2024. Investigators from Pendleton Police Department and SLED searched for Barnes and located her remains in a wooded area in Pickens County on Friday, September 20, 2024.
“The case was initially handled by the Pickens County Coroner’s Office and forensic testing was performed by Clemson Anthropology Department and a Forensic Odontologist confirming that the remains found were in fact Jessica Barnes.
“An autopsy was performed by the Pickens County Coroner’s Office and the cause of death has been determined to be asphyxiation by strangulation, the manner of death has been ruled homicide.
“The investigation is ongoing by Pendleton Police Department, SLED, Pickens County Coroner’s Office and the Anderson County Office of the Coroner.”
Officials said Wednesday that Barnes’ body was located in Pickens County, which is around 25 miles north of her Pendleton home.
As previously reported by CrimeOnline, the Town of Pendleton Police Department stated that Jessica Barnes was last seen on August 1 in the Pendleton area.
Katherine Gomm, who shares two children with Brandon Barnes, said she left him in 2022 after he allegedly assaulted her in Maine.
Gomm claimed that Barnes cut her off from her family by breaking her phone and blocking her relatives and friends on social media. She also accused him of confining her inside their residence. Gomm further alleged that Barnes assaulted her while she was pregnant, accusing her of “eating too much.”
She provided a copy of a protection order she obtained against him to FITS News.
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[Featured image: Jessica Barnes/Handout]
