OAN’s Abril Elfi
6:06 PM – Thursday, August 24, 2023
The boyfriend of a missing North Carolina woman was arrested in connection to her murder after her remains were discovered.
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On Thursday, James Dunmore, the boyfriend of Allisha Watts who had been missing for over a month, was arrested outside his home by multiple police officers.
Dunmore was arrested for the murder of his 39-year-old girlfriend who had been missing since July 16th.
Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields reported that her remains were found earlier on Thursday near the border of Richmond and Montgomery counties in Norman, North Carolina.
“As a result of the continued investigation in the search for Moore County resident Allisha Watts, along with the collaborative effort of multiple law enforcement agencies, this case is no longer considered a missing person investigation and has transitioned into a homicide investigation,” he said.
The night of her disappearance, Watts was set to attend a comedy show at Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, after she was hung out with Dunmore. However, family members said she never showed up.
“It just wasn’t normal. That’s not like her,” Watts’ cousin, Gwendolyn Utley, told the press.
Utely also claimed that she saw that Watts’ car was still parked at Dunmore’s house but the car was gone a few hours later.
An unresponsive Dunmore was discovered two days later in Watts’ Mercedes-Benz SUV. Watts was reported missing the next day.
By July 20th, investigators had discovered a shell casing near Dunmore’s house that was reportedly fired with a 9mm handgun.
As part of their investigation into Watts’ disappearance, police returned to Dunmore’s home on July 26th and took clothing, smartphones, a camera, a laptop, a memory card, and images.
A search warrant for the materials stated that Dunmore attempted suicide before being discovered inside Watts’ vehicle, and officials declared him a person of interest in the case.
According to reports, Dunmore has a prior criminal history in Virginia which included convictions for kidnapping, assault and battery and stalking.
A woman who claimed to be in a relationship with him had also filed a domestic violence protection order against him in Durham County, North Carolina. Reportedly the woman claimed that she was kidnapped by him and that Dunmore threatened to kill her.
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By: OAN
