Remains of woman and daughter not seen for 24 years found in house of suspected killer on day he dies

For over two decades, a West Virginia father has fought for answers after his 10-year-old daughter and the girl’s mother vanished in August 2000 amid a heated custody dispute.

Now, Rick Lafferty can finally bring her home, after state police and the FBI announced on Tuesday that the remains of Susan Carter and their daughter Natasha “Alex” Carter, were found at the house of Larry Webb, on Monday — the same day Webb died while detained.

“It’s kind of a sad day, but also a happy day because I can finally bring my baby home,” Lafferty said at the press conference. “After 24 years, and after this case went cold so many times, I almost lost hope so many times.”

Webb, who was in his 80s, suffered a medical episode at the Mount Olive Correctional Complex on Monday morning, where he was being held without bond after having been arrested earlier this month in connection with the girl’s death, West Virginia State Police announced on Tuesday.

On his deathbed, Webb confessed to the killings, according to the prosecuting attorney. He admitted to shooting Susan Carter during an argument over cash inside the home that he believed she had spent.

He then told investigators that after shooting Carter he “knew he had ruined his life forever” so decided he also had to shoot and kill her 10-year-old daughter Alex to avoid detection.

Webb detailed how after he murdered the girl and mother, he then wrapped their bodies. For two days, their bodies were left on his basement floor while he dug shallow graves in his backyard, where they remain buried for over two and a half decades.

Six hours after Webb was pronounced dead, the remains of the mother and daughter were discovered in shallow graves in the backyard of his Beckley, West Virginia home.

“It was later that same afternoon when we found Susan and Alex Carter,” Beckley Police Department Deputy Chief Dave Allard said. “A bit of a poetic ending that not even I could write.”

According to the FBI, back in August 2000, Carter and Lafferty were in a “contentious” custody battle over their child, Alex. There were reports that the mother and daughter left and were staying at Webb’s home before they were murdered.

The case went cold for years until 2021 with a renewed push for answers in the case. In 2023, West Virginia State Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and US Marshalls executed search warrants at Webb’s house, where they uncovered DNA and other evidence which led them to charge Webb with Alex’s murder.

During the 2023 searches, Webb told local news outlets that he did not know what happened to the girl nor when he last saw her.

“I don’t remember,” Webb said at the time. “I have dementia. I can’t say exactly.”

But now Alex’s father finally has answers — and he encouraged others with missing loved ones or unsolved cases to keep trying.

“For others in my situation, I just want to tell them to never give up hope,” Lafferty said.