BAY MINETTE, Ala. – A man accused of killing his wife and burying her in a shallow grave in South Carolina, then imprisoning a teenage family member, was arrested in Alabama, authorities announced.
The Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office took Dionicia Nava Abarca, 42, into custody at a highway gas station in Bay Minette early Sunday, the agency said in a statement obtained by news outlets Thursday.
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Abarca was charged with the unlawful imprisonment of his 17-year-old nephew after a deputy approached a car at the closed business, and the teen driver told the officer he was being forced to take Abarca from South Carolina to Texas, officials said.
The body of Abarca's wife, Alisia Campos Garcia, 37, was discovered Sunday afternoon in a shallow grave in a cornfield in Gaffney, South Carolina, according to Cherokee County Coroner Dennis Fowler. The field was near where the family owned a rental property, news outlets reported, citing authorities.
Abarca’s children told investigators they witnessed the couple arguing and saw Abarca attack Garcia before the two left the home together.
The Cherokee County Sheriff's Office charged Abarca with murder and he was later transported back to South Carolina, according to Al.com.
It was unclear whether he had an attorney who could comment on his behalf.