Fayetteville man faces charges of killing wife, burning and burying her body

Kenneth Hardin, Jr., is being held pending extradition in the St. Tammany, Louisiana jail, in connection with the death of his wife, Carrie Hardin, early Tuesday, Aug. 20, according to the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office.

The woman’s body showed evidence of gunshot wounds, Sheriff Barry Babb is quoted as saying.

Fayette deputies tracked Hardin to Covington, Louisiana, where a SWAT team arrested Hardin in his motel room.

Hardin confessed to family members on Aug. 21 that  “he killed his wife in self-defense, burned her body and was leaving town,” according to the news release from the Fayette Sheriff’s Office.

Hardin’s father reported the information to deputies, and officers found a shallow grave in a wooded area behind the residence at 145 Merlin Court, Fayetteville, the report said. “The partially burned remains of Carrie Hardin were found buried under yard debris.”

Local deputies are in Louisiana questioning Hardin, who is jailed awaiting extradition to Fayette County.