Larry Webb, a man indicted for the killing of Susan Carter and her 10-year-old daughter, Natasha “Alex” Carter, confessed to the double homicide on his deathbed, leading police to find the presumed remains of the victims more than 20 years after the crime was committed.
Susan and Alex were last seen at Webb’s home in Beckley, West Virginia, on August 8, 2000.
- Larry Webb confessed to killing Susan Carter and her daughter Alex over 20 years after the crime.
- Webb's confession led to finding the victims' remains buried in his backyard since August 2000.
- Evidence from a bullet found where Alex's room had been resulted in Webb's indictment for first-degree murder.
At the time, the 41-year-old mother was in a contentious custody battle with Alex’s father, Rick Lafferty, the FBI reported.
Susan and Alex were living in Webb’s house when they disappeared, pointing to Webb as the primary suspect.
Larry Webb confessed to the killing of Susan Carter and her 10-year-old daughter, Natasha “Alex” Carter, more than 20 years after committing the double homicide
Image credits: WVVA
Authorities obtained a search warrant for his home approximately 18 months ago. In the residence, members of the FBI’s Evidence Recovery Team and West Virginia State Police Crime Scene Investigative Unit reportedly found a bullet embedded in the wall where Alex’s bedroom had been.
During one of the searches of his house, Webb told news outlets he didn’t know where the girl was or when he had last seen her, saying he couldn’t “say exactly” because he had “dementia,” as per CBS News.
Upon analyzing the evidence, authorities confirmed that the blood on the bullet was Alex’s, and they were subsequently able to indict him for first-degree murder in the girl’s death in 2023.
The man told investigators that he had buried the victims in his backyard in August 2000
Image credits: WVVA
Webb was incarcerated at the Mount Olive Correctional Complex. On Monday (April 22), the killer suffered “a medical episode,” as described by Captain R. A. Maddy with the West Virginia State Police. He was pronounced dead at the hospital at age 84.
Before he died, Webb made a “detailed, undeniable, and unconflicted” confession about murdering Alex and her mother, authorities revealed during a press conference on Tuesday (April 23).
The murderer told investigators that he killed Susan because he noticed that some of his money was missing from his home and thought she was responsible for it. Authorities said that Webb shot 10-year-old Alex “to avoid detection for having killed Susan Carter.”
After obtaining a search warrant for his home, authorities discovered a bullet embedded in the wall where Alex’s room used to be
Image credits: FBI
Image credits: web.archive
“He detailed for us exactly how he murdered both women, how he wrapped their bodies in bed linens, and how they spent two days on the basement floor while he dug a grave in his backyard,” a member of the West Virginia State Police said during the press conference.
Six hours after Webb’s death, members of the police and the FBI found what they believed to be the remains of Susan and her daughter.
“The way the crime was detailed to us by Larry Webb and the condition in which we found the bodies confirms with a high degree of certainty that the two bodies are those of Susan and Alex Carter.”
Police conducted a search of the murderer’s backyard, where they uncovered what’s believed to be the remains of Susan and her daughter
Image credits: WVVA
Image credits: WVVA
Webb died at the Mount Olive Correctional Complex after suffering a “medical episode“
During the press conference, the police extended their “most heartfelt condolences” to Rick Lafferty, who spent more than two decades looking for answers in the murder of his daughter, and offered their “heartfelt apologies” that “as law enforcement, [they] couldn’t have come to this sooner.”
People reacted to the news of the breakthrough in the homicide case
i am curious why it took so long for them to search the home? cuz it seemed like they knew he was the last person they were seen with.
I think he was charged with the crime, and they knew he did it, but they never knew where they were. I imagine it’s hard to get a warrant to dig up someone’s entire yard without any evidence to suggest what they’re looking for is actually there. But, it IS WV. So who the hell knows
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The reason he was not arrested was that the mother was non custodial. It was believed for 20 years that she had kidnapped her daughter. Source: https://www.wvsp.gov/missing-persons/Pages/MissingPerson_Detail.aspx?personid=6
WTF is up with those age progressed photos? They made the woman and her daughter look like fairy tale villains!
I was JUST thinking this morning how much I hate most human beings! :(
For those wondering why it took so long to search the house, there's a little thing called a search warrant, which requires a reasonable suspicion to get. Basically, police have to go to a judge, present the evidence they fully expect to find in a location, where they intend to search, and then convince the judge that yes, there is enough existing evidence to search. In this case, while they always suspected that he was involved, from day one, but couldn't actually gather enough evidence together to convince a judge that a search of his property was warranted. It wasn't until after his admission, and indictment, that they were able to get a judge to sign off on the search warrant. IE: They may have suspected something was up, but without enough evidence to tie him to the pair's disappearance, they couldn't search the property. Fourth amendment in action there. Protection from unreasonable search and seizure.
What is going on with the mom’s hair? That is a terrible age progression image.
Heartbreaking stuff, this story, but so glad the father finally got closure. This all took place about three, maybe five minutes (2.5 miles) from my home where I now sit and type. Bit wild to see it on BP.
So the authorities were 95% sure that, A: mother and daughter were dead. B: he killed them. C: where he may have buried them. I'm not going to ask why they didn't rush in and possibly destroy their chance at a conviction. But why did they 'age progress' their wanted photos? Why did they 'age progress' the mother's photo to Witchey Woman Hag? And then pass that untrue cartoon of the poor woman around the nation when they had a good idea that she was dead and buried in someone's yard? Suddenly, the question of what took them 24 years isn't a mystery after all. They just didn't give a s**t to find them.
Fourth amendment in action here. Protection from unreasonable search and seizure. Means that while they may have been 95% sure, they didn't have enough physical or circumstantial evidence to convince a judge that he was responsible. Generally, with property searches like this, they need something pretty slam dunk substantial to get a warrant. Such as in this case, if the police had witness testimony of him bragging to someone else about what he did, or photographs of him hiding bodies in his back yard, or really something physical that could tie him to it. Since they didn't have it, they couldn't really search the property. It wasn't until after his indictment that a search was granted, especially in the wake of his deathbed confession. HAD they searched when they were just 95% sure, he not only would have walked free, but could sue the officers and state for a civil rights violation, as the search would have violated his 4th amendment protections.
Load More Replies... This is just a few hours away from where I live. 2 hours max I believe. Wild
2 hours and 24 min drive to be exact! People are crazy
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Yeah this is weird. I mean, one of the first places I'd look is the yard. Some freshly piled dirt mounds would be highly suspicious but who knows.
Load More Replies... i am curious why it took so long for them to search the home? cuz it seemed like they knew he was the last person they were seen with.
I think he was charged with the crime, and they knew he did it, but they never knew where they were. I imagine it’s hard to get a warrant to dig up someone’s entire yard without any evidence to suggest what they’re looking for is actually there. But, it IS WV. So who the hell knows
Load More Replies... The reason he was not arrested was that the mother was non custodial. It was believed for 20 years that she had kidnapped her daughter. Source: https://www.wvsp.gov/missing-persons/Pages/MissingPerson_Detail.aspx?personid=6
WTF is up with those age progressed photos? They made the woman and her daughter look like fairy tale villains!
I was JUST thinking this morning how much I hate most human beings! :(
For those wondering why it took so long to search the house, there's a little thing called a search warrant, which requires a reasonable suspicion to get. Basically, police have to go to a judge, present the evidence they fully expect to find in a location, where they intend to search, and then convince the judge that yes, there is enough existing evidence to search. In this case, while they always suspected that he was involved, from day one, but couldn't actually gather enough evidence together to convince a judge that a search of his property was warranted. It wasn't until after his admission, and indictment, that they were able to get a judge to sign off on the search warrant. IE: They may have suspected something was up, but without enough evidence to tie him to the pair's disappearance, they couldn't search the property. Fourth amendment in action there. Protection from unreasonable search and seizure.
What is going on with the mom’s hair? That is a terrible age progression image.
Heartbreaking stuff, this story, but so glad the father finally got closure. This all took place about three, maybe five minutes (2.5 miles) from my home where I now sit and type. Bit wild to see it on BP.
So the authorities were 95% sure that, A: mother and daughter were dead. B: he killed them. C: where he may have buried them. I'm not going to ask why they didn't rush in and possibly destroy their chance at a conviction. But why did they 'age progress' their wanted photos? Why did they 'age progress' the mother's photo to Witchey Woman Hag? And then pass that untrue cartoon of the poor woman around the nation when they had a good idea that she was dead and buried in someone's yard? Suddenly, the question of what took them 24 years isn't a mystery after all. They just didn't give a s**t to find them.
Fourth amendment in action here. Protection from unreasonable search and seizure. Means that while they may have been 95% sure, they didn't have enough physical or circumstantial evidence to convince a judge that he was responsible. Generally, with property searches like this, they need something pretty slam dunk substantial to get a warrant. Such as in this case, if the police had witness testimony of him bragging to someone else about what he did, or photographs of him hiding bodies in his back yard, or really something physical that could tie him to it. Since they didn't have it, they couldn't really search the property. It wasn't until after his indictment that a search was granted, especially in the wake of his deathbed confession. HAD they searched when they were just 95% sure, he not only would have walked free, but could sue the officers and state for a civil rights violation, as the search would have violated his 4th amendment protections.
Load More Replies... This is just a few hours away from where I live. 2 hours max I believe. Wild
2 hours and 24 min drive to be exact! People are crazy
Load More Replies... Yeah this is weird. I mean, one of the first places I'd look is the yard. Some freshly piled dirt mounds would be highly suspicious but who knows.
Load More Replies...
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