UPDATE | NewsChannel 6 has learned that Cody Wooten was also arrested in connection with the case.
Original article below:
WINDSOR, S.C. (WJBF) – Two men arrested in connection to human remains found Friday in a shallow grave along Wendy Lane in Windsor, South Carolina, near the outskirts of Aiken State Park, remain in custody as Aiken County Sheriff’s Office investigate a possible connection to the disappearance of a Graniteville man who was first reported missing more than two weeks ago, according to paperwork filed by the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office.
One of the suspects, according to incident reports filed in the case, is the father of the missing man’s ex-girlfriend.
According to the incident report requested by WJBF in connection to the case, the daughter of Graniteville resident John Belote reported him missing Friday, June 30th.
Belote’s daughter told Aiken County Sheriff’s Deputies that she had last spoken to Belote on Wednesday, June 28th. During that conversation, according to a report of a missing person filed in the case, Belote allegedly told his daughter that he’d gotten into an argument with his ex-girlfriend’s father, 51-year-old Donald Britton.
Other family and friends reported that Belote planned to confront Britton– this shortly before Belote’s disappearance, according to witness statements taken in the case.
Belote’s daughter filed a missing person’s report two days after last speaking to her father, according to paperwork in the case obtained by WJBF News.
Around 2:27 p.m. Friday, July 14th, Aiken County Coroner`s Office and Aiken County Sheriff’s Office began an investigation into the cause of death and identify of a body found buried in a shallow grave along the 300 block of Wendy Lane near the Southwestern property boundary of Aiken State Park.
According to paperwork filed by Aiken County Sheriff’s Office, Monday, July 17th, roughly two weeks after he was named as a person of interest in the disappearance of John Belote, 51-year-old Donald Britton was arrested, along with another suspect, 30-year-old Thomas Guinn, in connection to the human remains found in Windsor.
Guinn is currently being held at Aiken County Detention Center on $15,000 bond on the charge of Destruction, Desecration or Removal of Human Remains. This charge is classified as a Felony under South Carolina law.
Britton’s hold at Aiken County Detention Center includes the felony charge of Destruction, Desecration or Removal of Human Remains in addition to previous charges from earlier in the month that include Possession of Firearm or Ammunition by Person Convicted of Violent Felony and Distribution of Methamphetamine.
51-year-old Britton is being held without bond.
As of the writing of this article, Aiken County Sheriff’s Office says that the missing persons case filed on behalf of John Belote remains open and that he is still considered missing.
At this times, neither Guinn or Britton have been charged in the case any offense beyond the charge of Destruction, Desecration or Removal of Human Remains.
Aiken County Sheriff’s Office tells WJBF that the identification of the human remains found in Windsor is still under investigation.
