Jessica Barnes was last seen on August 2, while her mother was suspicious of text messages she received from her phone — believing they were sent by someone else. Now, her husband and two roommates have been arrested.
South Carolina authorities have arrested three people in connection with the death of Jessica Barnes — her husband and two roommates — after uncovering her missing remains.
Jessica was last seen on August 1, and disappeared from her Pendleton, S.C., home, the Pendleton Police Department said in a statement in September. During their investigation, authorities located remains that were not immediately identified in nearby Pickens County, Pendleton police said in a statement this week.
A Pickens County coroner then confirmed on Tuesday, October 1, that the remains belong to Jessica.
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Once the remains were found, Pendleton police, along with South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), interviewed Jessica’s husband, Brandon Barnes, and the couple’s two roommates, Kendall Mims and Victoria Tippett, per the statement.
Following the interviews, the three were charged by Pendleton police on several charges, including a murder charge for Jessica’s husband, Brandon.
In an arrest affidavit for Brandon, Pendleton police allege he used his arms to strangle Jessica to death on Aug. 2, in a Pendleton residence. According to police, Brandon admitted to the killing.
Mims and Tippett, meanwhile, were both charged with accessory after the fact; obstruction of justice; and misprision of a felony, per police.
Police allege that Mims and Tippett assisted Brandon in disposing of Jessica’s body. Both women allegedly confessed to the crime, per their respective affidavits.
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Tippett is further accused of neglecting to report a crime despite allegedly witnessing the killing and having multiple opportunities to notify police, per the affidavits. Pendleton police also claim Mims neglected to report the crime despite being told about the killing and despite having multiple opportunities to notify police.
Jessica was reported missing by her mother Cecilia Varvara in September, Pendleton police said in their previous statement. Varvara allegedly received messages from an account under Jessica’s name after her disappearance, saying she did not believe them to be from her daughter.
Police conducted a search at the residence where Brandon and Jessica lived with their roommates Mims and Tippett on September 20, where they seized “clues, articles of clothing, electronic devices” from the residence. Their investigation further led police to the couple’s roommate’s car at a location frequented by both Jessica and Brandon Barnes, with phone records allegedly showing Brandon drove the vehicle to the location.
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It wasn’t immediately clear which roommate’s car police traced. It’s also not clear if any of the suspects have entered pleas. Attorney information for the three suspects was not immediately available either.
A GoFundMe has been set up to assist Jessica’s family.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is urged to contact Pendleton police at 864-646-9409 or email the department at police@townofpendleton.org
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages; Calls are confidential and toll-free.
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