A man who helped his friend dump a woman's remains in a Cumberland County creek pleads guilty
A man accused of helping a friend dispose of a woman's body in 2021 pleaded guilty recently, court records show.
Michael Lee Witt, 32, pleaded guilty in Cumberland County Superior Court on April 17 to concealment of death after the fact of first-degree murder, according to court records. In exchange for the plea, a charge of accessory after the fact to murder was dismissed and Witt must testify truthfully against Javeeno Resimo.
Resimo, 21, is charged with first-degree murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon in the November 2021 killing of Jessi Marie Lindsley, 38. Witt will be sentenced after Resimo's case is settled, the record notes.
According to the plea arrangement, the prosecution has agreed that if Witt testifies truthfully against Resimo, they will ask for an active sentence of 38 to 58 months or supervised probation,
The case against Resimo is pending.
What happened to Jessi Lindsley?
The record states that Witt helped dispose of Lindsley's body on Nov. 18, 2021, three weeks before the slain woman's family reported her missing.
On Dec. 17, her body was found floating on a large tarp that was caught on a creek channel near Butler Nursey and Blossom roads, according to the autopsy investigation. She was shot in the head and torso.
The investigation revealed that the last phone call she made was on Nov. 11, 2021, to Resimo and that she had been staying at his Jacamp Drive home in the months before the killing, an affidavit states.
Related: Second arrest made in connection to Cumberland County slaying of Jessi Lindsley
On the day after her body was found, the record notes, investigators also learned that the then-18-year-old Resimo was allegedly attempting to leave the state. Upon his arrest Dec. 18, Resimo reportedly told investigators that Lindsley had been killed at his Hope Mills home.
"Resimo provided detailed statements about the killing of Lindsley … including how and where the homicide occurred and details about the removal of her body and the disposition of (her) remains," an affidavit said.
Additionally, the record notes that a woman came forward alleging Resimo had shown her a photograph of Lindsley after death. Investigators also found a blood-spattered shotgun, believed used in the killing, inside a minivan that Resimo is accused of stealing from Lindsley.
A motive for the slaying was not noted.
Witt is being held in the Cumberland County jail and Resimo is being housed within the Department of Adult Corrections, records show.
Public safety reporter Joseph Pierre can be reached at jpierre@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Michael Witt pleaded guilty to involvement in death of Jessi Lindsley
