Pet duck ‘worthy of medal’ leads police to body of woman allegedly murdered by her own granddaughter

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A pet duck has been credited with cracking a murder case after leading investigators to the body of a missing woman allegedly murdered by her granddaughter.

North Carolina couple Angela Wamsley and boyfriend Mark Barnes were charged after the body of Nellie Sullivan was discovered earlier this month, nearly 18 months after she disappeared in December 2020 at the age of 91.

Investigators had searched in vain for the missing grandmother’s body for years.

Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Mark Walker told WLOS investigators returned to a property on Beady Eyed Lane, Candler, earlier this month after receiving information from Mr Barnes.

“Mark (Barnes) actually sent us on a wild goose chase which resulted in us digging for several days in a site that he knew she was not located at,” Mr Walker said.

While digging in another location, officers spotted a pet duck on the property.

“Apparently, the duck ran underneath the trailer at 11 Beady Eyed Lane, and as they were chasing after their pet duck, they ran across the container that Nellie Sullivan was located in,” Mr Walker told the station.

“If I could give that duck a medal, I would.”

Mr Walker said they had strong evidence that Ms Sullivan, a vulnerable grandmother who was suffering dementia, was killed soon after she disappeared.

“Instead of receiving the care she needed from those that are supposed to love her the most, she received the exact opposite in the worst possible way,” Mr Walker told WLOS.

Ms Wamsley, 46, and Mr Barnes, 50, were arrested and charged with concealing Ms Sullivan’s death soon after she went missing.

The couple are now facing more than a dozen charges including first-degree murder, concealing a body, drug offenses including heroin trafficking and felony conspiracy possession and animal cruelty.

Ms Wamsley was also charged with assault with a deadly weapon on a Detention Officer at the Buncombe County Detention Facility in January 2021.

Ms Sullivan’s badly decomposing remains have been sent to a medical examiner to determine cause of death.