Police Discover Man Relaxing on Couch Among Deceased Wife’s Remains

A man from North Carolina, who disappeared with his wife last week, now faces criminal charges after allegedly being found in a South Carolina home. There, he was reportedly sitting on a couch, amidst “containers with body parts in them” that belonged to his wife, according to law enforcement statements.

“It’s something like out of some horror movie,” Florence County Sheriff T.J. Joye told Myrtle Beach NBC affiliate WMBF.

“We found some containers with body parts in them where they appeared to be cut up,” he said.

Charles Antwine, aged 56, is currently a suspect in the case of his wife Christy Ward’s disappearance, after their relatives in Brunswick County, North Carolina, reported them missing last week, as stated by the Florence County Sheriff’s Office reports. Antwine faces charges linked to the alleged discovery of Ward’s remains but is only being considered a suspect at this stage in her disappearance, pending the results of Ward’s autopsy, according to Joye.

“What began as a missing persons report from Brunswick County, North Carolina led FCSO investigators to charge a Lake City [South Carolina] man with desecration of human remains,” the sheriff’s office said Monday in a press release.

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On Saturday, a patrol deputy checked a local boat landing and spotted what appeared to be the roof of a “mostly submerged vehicle some distance from the boat access point,” per the FCSO release. Authorities responded and recovered the vehicle, but it was unoccupied. The license plates were allegedly registered in Antwine’s name, with cops learning that he had another address in Lake City.

“When deputies conducted a property check of this location, they detected an unusual smell coming from the residence and there was no response to knocks on the doors,” the FCSO officials said. “A search warrant for the residence was obtained, and upon entry, deputies encountered Antwine who was sitting on a couch. Investigators then discovered human remains in what are described as plastic containers, which were taped shut.”

Police say the investigation into Ward’s death is ongoing and additional charges “are possible” depending on the results of an autopsy that’s being conducted by the Florence County coroner. Antwine appeared in court Monday and was reportedly told that a local circuit court judge would determine whether a bond would be granted for his release.

“This is just wrong,” said Ward’s son, Zachary Ward, during Antwine’s bond hearing about his mother’s presumed death.

“She’s overcome so much. And she’s been through so much,” he told the court. “She just lost her father. And he was the only one left that she had other than us.”

Antwine was being held at the Florence County Detention Center on Tuesday, still awaiting his circuit court bond hearing, according to online records.