According to court records, a South Carolina man acknowledged to murdering his girlfriend and setting fire to her body inside a car.
Jarrett Haskell Davis, 28, pled guilty on Monday to murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, third-degree arson, and desecration of human remains. He was sentenced to 43 years in prison for murder, plus additional time for other offenses, according to online court records reviewed by Law&Crime.
Davis killed his girlfriend, Megan Bodiford, 25, on or around April 25, when she went missing from Denmark, South Carolina, roughly 60 miles south of Columbia. Bodiford sent a disturbing text message to a friend before going missing, saying, “If you don’t hear from me in 30 minutes, he killed me,” according to FITSNews.
“He has a gun,” Bodiford also stated.
According to friends and family, Bodiford had a four-month-old infant and was coping with domestic troubles in her relationship with Davis. “She reached out for help,” Bodiford’s cousin, Stephanie Nickens, told local NBC and CW affiliate WIS following Davis’ arrest.
According to the Bamberg County Sheriff’s Office, Davis was arrested when officials discovered a burned-out automobile with human remains later identified as Bodiford about 2 miles from her home.
“It’s heartbreaking because he didn’t have to do all of that,” Nickens told the station about how Bodiford was discovered and her final cry for assistance. “I keep having this thought in my mind of how fearful she was in that moment,” said the niece’s cousin.
Bodiford’s family informed WIS after Davis’ arrest that they were furious with authorities since Davis was on a domestic violence arrest warrant at the time.
“If he would have been locked up the way that he was supposed to be the first time, maybe he wouldn’t have even gotten a chance to get this far with her,” Nickens fumed.
Bodiford had three girls, ages 7, 4, and 4 months, according to a GoFundMe website.
“I want everyone to focus on what a beautiful soul she had, just a wonderful mother that she was,” Nickens told the news station. “She enjoyed being among people. If you look at her social media, you’ll notice a lot of her pals getting together and posting memories of themselves with her.
