Law enforcement authorities in Florida have arrested a 27-year-old New Mexico woman who spent more than a week on the run after allegedly murdering her 83-year-old grandfather in a disturbing bid to inherit his lake house after his death.
The woman, Candy Jo Webb (pictured above in her arrest mugshot), is accused of killing her grandfather A.J. Harden and dumping his body in an abandoned tool chest in a rural area outside Fort Sumner, New Mexico. Authorities say she then fled the state, driving cross-country and avoiding law enforcement for at least a week before she was arrested in Florida by US Marshals on Thursday.
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The case centers around Harden’s ownership of a lake house. According to authorities, the motive for the murder was that Webb was expecting she would receive that lake house as an inheritance after his death. Allegedly, Webb snuck Harden both Xanax and Ambien in a dangerous combination that caused a fatal overdose, killing the unsuspecting 83-year-old man in his home back in late October. She then attempted to hide the body in that tool chest before fleeing.
A statement on Webb’s arrest from the New Mexico State Police and the De Baca County Sheriff’s Office explains more about the case and investigation, adding (below):
“Through an extensive investigation, State Police agents were able to identify [Webb] as a suspect in Mr. Harden’s murder … She gave Mr. Harden Xanax and Ambien [that caused the overdose]. After Mr. Harden died, Ms. Webb concealed Mr. Harden’s body in a tool chest. Webb drove the tool chest to [the friend’s address in Fort Sumner] where she discarded the body.”
Talk about heartless… and all of this over a piece of property?! Ugh.
As we mentioned (above), the 27-year-old had gone on the run for more than a week after the alleged incident, before eventually being detained in the Jacksonville, Florida area by US Marshals late last week. She’d had a warrant out for her arrest since October 28 when investigators first determined she was allegedly involved in the murder.
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Now, Webb is being held in Florida after being charged with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence, according to local law enforcement officials who confirmed the news to People. She is being held without bond, though she has yet to enter pleas to the charges against her as she awaits extradition back to New Mexico to go before a judge there.
Obviously, our hearts go out to this poor grandfather, the victim of such a senseless and unnecessary crime. We feel for Harden’s family, friends, and loved ones who are now left to mourn his horrific death.
And to think, a man lost his life like this over a lake house. Makes us so sad… and mad!
[Image via New Mexico State Police]