On November 5, Ohio teen Samantha Guthrie was reported missing by her mother, who hadn’t seen her since the morning before.
The disappearance ignited a large search for the 18-year-old. Missing posters were placed around Akron offering up a $5,000 reward.
Many also took to Facebook to post pleas for Guthrie’s safe return.
But the search for the teen came to a tragic end on Sunday when authorities found her body in a thick section of woods in New Franklin, the Akron Beacon Journal reports.
Her death has since been ruled a homicide after the Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office determined she was killed by a gunshot wound to the head.
Danny Hamby, 39, and Toni Kenney, 31, were arrested on Monday for the teen’s murder. Akron Police Lt. Rick Edwards said:
“Detectives are not naming which one, Danny Hamby or Toni Keeney, actually fired the shot that killed Samantha Guthrie. This is still an active investigation at this time.”
In addition, William Eugene Alexander, 38, and Dylan Brown, 19, are also facing charges related to Guthrie’s death.
All of the people arrested, excluding Hamby, told police that the teen was shot at a home in Akron. They then put her in the trunk of a car and dumped her body in the woods.
As of now, their motive hasn’t been disclosed.
Guthrie’s body was found in the same section of woods where the charred remains of 43-year-old Kerri Blondheim were located in September.
Blondheim’s death has also been ruled a homicide, as she died from “blunt force trauma to the head and neck mixed … [and] strangled,” Akron Beacon Journal reports.
Her body was found on a mattress that had been lit on fire.
Authorities have not confirmed a connection between the two deaths but did confirm both were local women with past histories of drug use.
Blondheim’s death remains under investigation.