A Newton County woman has been arrested and charged with concealing a death after the sheriff’s office identified human remains found at a Boy Scout camp as her father.
Tamela Renee Carter, 48, of Covington, is facing several charges related to concealing the death of 72-year-old Perry Davis for four months while continuing to access his Social Security funds. Carter was booked into the Newton County Jail on Monday and faces one felony count of concealing the death of another, four felony counts of forgery and misdemeanor obstruction of justice. She remains in jail without bond, online jail records show.
The case began Sunday when sheriff’s deputies responded to reports of human remains found in the woods at Bert Adams Boy Scout Camp in Covington on Aug. 13. The sheriff’s office and Newton coroner opened a joint investigation to identify the remains, successfully linking them to a missing person case concerning Davis that was being investigated by the Covington Police Department.
Covington police became involved in the case when Davis' out-of-state family members requested the department conduct a wellness check after getting inconsistent information about his condition from Carter, Capt. Ken Malcolm told AJC.com. The other family members and Carter had been in a lengthy dispute about the finances and care of Davis, Malcolm said.
According to the initial investigation, Carter told the Davis family that Perry Davis died of natural causes in April and had been cremated. The Davis family expected Carter to take her father’s remains to Ohio for a family memorial, but she did not show up. The family told investigators that after Carter failed to appear at the memorial, she said that Davis was “OK” and led them to believe he had been put into a long-term care facility.
On Aug. 26, police investigators searched Carter’s home and found no evidence of Davis, Malcolm said. Carter told investigators that Davis was fine and that he had been placed in a long-term care facility, but she would not reveal where because she did not want to share that information with the out-of-state family.
After questioning Carter, police began a joint investigation with the Newton sheriff’s office and coroner to determine if the remains were, in fact, Davis' body. Detectives found no record of Davis being a patient anywhere in Georgia, Malcolm said.
Covington police questioned Carter again Monday, and faced with new evidence, the daughter admitted that Davis had died in April, Malcolm said. She also showed investigators where she had taken Davis' body, which was confirmed as the same location where the remains were found by Newton deputies, and admitted that she had continued to access Davis' funds, Malcolm said.
“There is no evidence to suggest that this is a homicide. We have been in constant contact with Mr. Davis’ family in Ohio and have given them this and other detailed information about this case," Malcolm said.
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Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
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