CAROLINE COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — After the body of a Stafford County man was found in a rural area of Caroline County, two suspects have been arrested and charged in connection to the killing.
In the morning on Nov. 18, the body of a man was found along a gravel road in a rural area of Caroline County, near the Spotsylvania County line, according to the Caroline County Sheriff’s Office.
The man was from Stafford County and had no known connections to the area where his body was found, according to authorities. The sheriff’s office said it would not release his identity out of respect for him and his family.
Officials then began an investigation, traveling through Stafford County, Spotsylvania and Fredericksburg to interview the man’s family and acquaintances.
After support from other law enforcement agencies, on Friday, Nov. 22, officials attempted to pull over a vehicle near the intersection of Harrison Road and Plank Road in Fredericksburg. The sheriff’s office said two suspects fled on foot and then were apprehended.
Officials said it is believed a gun was discarded during the chase, after which two handguns were recovered in the wooded area where the chase took place, including a .40 caliber handgun matching the caliber of shell casings found at the crime scene.
The sheriff’s office said 30-year-old Lauren Ainsleigh Thrift and 47-year-old James William Jackson were charged in connection to the man’s death.
Thrift has been charged with conspiracy to commit murder, accessory after the fact to murder, conspiracy to commit abduction and abduction, according to the sheriff’s office.
Williams was charged with second-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a murder, abduction, conspiracy to commit abduction and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Preliminary investigation indicates that the man was abducted and taken to a rural area in Caroline County where he was shot and killed. Officials said evidence suggests that the killing was motivated by Jackson’s discovery of a relationship between Thrift and the victim.
Both suspects are being held without bond at the Rappahannock Regional Jail.
