A couple with a 15 years age gap was arrested in Virginia for the
murder
of a married couple. The 33-year-old man and his 18-year-old high school girlfriend killed the couple in their home and fled the scene. However, they came back the next day to burn down their home to get rid of the bodies and evidence.
The man named Carol Paul Cormier will face two counts of second-degree murder, and his teenage girlfriend, Lacey Ann Horsley, is charged with two counts of murder and one count of conspiracy. He murdered Audrey Elaine Hudgins Mowrar and Chad Wayne Ashford with whom he might have been involved romantically.
He’s also facing charges of firearm possession by a convicted felon, one count of burning a residential home, and two counts of firearm use intending to murder. Meanwhile, his girlfriend drove him to and from the victim’s house, so she was an accessory to the
true crime
and conspired with him to burn/destroy the house, as per
Law & Crime.
As per the Mathews County Sheriff’s Office news release, they received a call for fire and rescue on July 11. The property is located 150 miles south of Arlington. The first responders saw the house was blazing and went in forcibly. Upon entering, they noticed two adults dead on the scene, who were identified later.
‘Didn’t want any witnesses’: Man immediately turns on high school girlfriend after their arrest for murdering his mom’s ‘best friend,’ police say
https://t.co/1K7cI2jpY5
— Law & Crime (@lawcrimenews)
July 16, 2025
The investigations revealed the two victims had multiple gunshot wounds and did not die from the fire. Instead, they were already dead before the fire started. The department used license plater readers and other digital evidence to locate the leads in the vehicle. The suspects were spotted at a traffic stop and arrested.
At first, they fled on foot, but the officers detained them. The vehicle used while they committed the crime was also recovered. During the investigation interview, the two suspects turned on each other. They explained how Cormier got into an argument with Ashford and shot him multiple times. He also shot Hudgeins when she tried to call 911.
Then they admitted to returning to the house to set it on fire to destroy any evidence, but got caught instead. Cormier defended himself by saying he lost his temper during the argument, but burning the house down was his girlfriend’s idea. Moreover, his mother states that Hodgins was her best friend for over a decade. He killed her, too, since he did not want any witnesses.
UPDATE: Investigation into the double homicide and arson in Mathews County revealed the victims were shot and killed Thursday, July 10, and the suspects returned the following day to burn the evidence.
https://t.co/Vi8AsiopXK
— WAVY TV 10 (@WAVY_News)
July 13, 2025
The mother also claims the two may have been in an intimate relationship before he killed him. So this could have been a motive for the murder. She was supportive of him being bisexual and accepted him. The two accused are currently held at the Middle Peninsula Regional Security Center; they’ll appear in court on October 28 for the
crime
..
