SOCASTEE, S.C. — Arrest warrants obtained by WPDE in Myrtle Beach revealed the two bodies found burned in a car were the result of a murder for hire, according to our news partners WPDE.
Horry County Police arrested four people charged in connection to a double murder in Socastee.
The suspects are Michael Faile, 37, David Cook, 44, William Tatum, 37, and Zachary Stell, 31. Each of the four suspects were charged with two counts of murder and arson.
Cook was additionally charged with possession of heroin. Tatum received an additional charge of trafficking heroin and possession of a scheduled drug.
The warrant for Faile revealed he hired Cook and Stell to kill the two victims after heroin or fentanyl was reportedly stole from him.
Stell and Cook's warrants say the pair lured the two victims into a secluded place where they shot the victims several times.
Police say in the warrants a witness told them Stell and Cook stabbed the victims and Cook set the car on fire with the two victims inside the car.
Tatum allegedly witnessed Stell and Cook stab the victims, was the "lookout" for the group, helped cleanup, and provided the accelerant to light the car on fire, according to warrants.
The four suspects are being held in the Horry County Jail without bond.
The car was found in a wooded area outside Myrtle Beach.
Investigators said the bodies were so badly burned that they had to call an anthropologist to assist in identifying the remains.
Construction workers found the car on fire in Socastee, in Horry County, and alerted firefighters around 7 a.m.
"This was a very hot fire, intense fire and we feel like maybe she (anthropologist) has some expertise that we don't have in removing these bodies from the fire or from the car,” said Robert Edge, the Horry County coroner."
Horry County Police Capt. John Harrelson said the firefighters turned the car over to police after putting out the blaze.
Harrelson said he can't say if the victims were male or female or how they may have died.
Authorities also looking into what started the car fire.
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Associated Press
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