LYNCH, Ky. — A Virginia woman was found dead inside a burning car in Harlan County, Kentucky, following a violent incident that police say began hours earlier in another state and ended with a deliberate cover-up attempt on a remote mountain road.
Kentucky State Police said 44-year-old Sandra Moore was discovered deceased in the driver’s seat of a Toyota vehicle that had plunged off KY 160 on Lynch Mountain and was fully engulfed in flames when first responders arrived on April 20.
Investigators later determined that Moore had been involved in a physical altercation with her nephew, 29-year-old David Stoneburner, earlier that morning at their residence in Virginia. Authorities believe Moore was killed during that altercation.
Detectives allege that Stoneburner transported Moore’s body across state lines to Kentucky, placed her in the driver’s seat of her own vehicle, set the car on fire, and allowed it to roll down the embankment in an effort to destroy evidence.
Stoneburner was arrested and booked into the Harlan County Detention Center. He is currently facing charges of first-degree arson and abuse of a corpse. Additional charges related to Moore’s death are expected pending the outcome of investigations in both Kentucky and Virginia.
Sandra Moore was pronounced dead at the scene by the Harlan County Coroner. The case remains under active investigation by Detective Jake Middleton of the Kentucky State Police.
Key Points
- Sandra Moore, 44, found dead in burned vehicle in Harlan County, Kentucky
- Nephew David Stoneburner accused of killing her in Virginia and transporting body to Kentucky
- Stoneburner charged with arson and abuse of a corpse; more charges expected
Authorities say a violent family dispute ended in a fiery death on a Kentucky mountain in a cross-state crime that is still unfolding.
