Fayette County man allegedly killed and burned his wife, then fled the state after burying her – WSB-TV Channel 2

FAYETTE COUNTY, Ga. – A Fayette County man was arrested hundreds of miles from his home after he killed his wife, burned and buried her body and then went on the run, according to the county sheriff's office.

Michael Doudna from Channel 2 was in Fayette County, where Sheriff Barry Babb said he and his deputies are awaiting the extradition of Kenneth Hardin Jr. to Georgia.

The sheriff's office said Hardin murdered his wife and then tried to cover up the crime.

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Officers first became aware of the crime after receiving a call from a home in Merlin Court. Hardin's father called 911 and sheriff's officers went to the couple's home in Merlin Court, where they found evidence that corroborated his statements.

“We have learned from the children that they have not seen their mother since Monday,” Babb said at a press conference on Thursday.

The sheriff’s office said Channel 2 Action News Hardin, 39, confessed to family members that he killed his wife Carrie Hardin the day before in self-defense, burned her body and left town.

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Inside the house, officers found traces of blood and attempts to cover up a crime scene, an unimaginable sight for Hardin’s neighbors, who told Channel 2 Action News that they knew him as a friendly family man. Babb said it appeared that Mrs. Hardin died of gunshot wounds.

“He seemed like a cool guy. He had a fireworks display for the kids on the Fourth of July,” said a neighbor. “It's really shocking.”

Investigators said they noticed unusual signs, particularly cameras located throughout the property that could still be accessed remotely when they began searching for a victim in the home.

“He was watching us and listening,” the sheriff’s office said.

On Wednesday, a cadaver dog found the burned remains of Hardin's wife in a shallow grave behind the family's home.

Authorities tracked Hardin to a Louisiana motel, where he was taken into custody and admitted to many aspects of the crime that left his children, ages 8 and 11, losing their mother and leaving their father facing decades behind bars.

“You try not to get emotionally attached to it, but at the same time you grieve and know that something like this is hard for everyone,” Babb said.

The sheriff's office did not provide too many details about the cause of the shooting, saying only that alcohol was involved and that video of the death was missing from the home's security camera.

Babb says Kenneth Hardin is cooperating fully with investigators in answering their questions and has admitted to murdering his wife.

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