Husband Accused of Murder After Discovery of Wife’s Dismembered Remains: DA

A man from North Carolina, initially charged with desecration of human remains after he was reportedly found at a residence surrounded by “containers” containing his wife’s body parts, has now been charged with her murder. Authorities accuse him of “dismembering” the woman and “removing her bones, and … her flesh” after killing her.

Charles Antwine, 56, was initially just a suspect in the disappearance of his wife, Christy Ward, reported missing last month in Brunswick County by family members in early June, according to the Florence County Sheriff’s Office statement. He was charged following the alleged discovery of Ward’s remains, although no further charges were filed initially as Ward’s autopsy was still underway.

On Tuesday, Antwine was extradited to North Carolina after being apprehended in South Carolina with the body parts and detained there. The investigation suggested that Antwine was responsible for Ward’s death, leading to his official charging and subsequent booking into the Brunswick County Detention Center on Tuesday. He is currently held without bail, as stated in a police press release. Authorities detailed how he desecrated Ward’s body post-murder in an arrest warrant dated July 2.

“On or about the specified date and in the mentioned county, the defendant unlawfully, willfully, and feloniously, with intent to conceal the death of Christie Ward, did knowingly dismember or destroy her human remains by cutting up her body parts, removing her bones, and removing her flesh,” the warrant stated. “In doing so, the defendant knew or had reason to know the remains were of the person, Christie Ward, and that she did not die from natural causes.”

Antwine is accused of “willfully” murdering Ward, whose first name was recorded by officials as both “Christie” and “Christy,” sometime in June. Her body parts were found on June 16.

“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 Florence County Sheriff’s Office (South Carolina) said in a press release.

During the search, a patrol deputy who was checking a local boat landing spotted what appeared to be the roof of a “mostly submerged vehicle some distance from the boat access point,” according to an FCSO press 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.”

After the discovery, police said an investigation into Ward’s death was ongoing and that additional charges were “possible” depending on the results of an autopsy.

“This is just wrong,” said Ward’s son, Zachary Ward, during Antwine’s bond hearing last month 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.”