Insets, from left: Bornold Alastair Eberhart (Fifteenth Judicial Circuit Solicitor’s Office) and Kristen Laymon (Perimeter Church). Background: Eberhart, in red circle, lifts Laymon’s body into his trunk at a South Carolina hotel (Fifteenth Judicial Circuit Solicitor’s Office via Sun News).
A 44-year-old Georgia man murdered his girlfriend at a South Carolina hotel while on vacation before loading her remains onto a luggage cart and sneaking the body out to his car and putting her in his trunk.
Bornold Alastair Eberhart pleaded guilty to murder in the death of 53-year-old Kristen Laymon on Tuesday, the 15th Judicial Circuit Solicitor’s Office said. A judge then sentenced him to 30 years behind bars.
Eberhart and Laymon left Decatur and traveled to North Myrtle Beach, where they stayed at the Wyndham Hotel on Sept. 22, 2023. They went out that night and returned to the hotel shortly before 2 a.m. on Sept. 23, 2023. Surveillance camera footage showed the two arguing upon their return and Laymon opening the car door while the car was still moving.
Laymon got out of the car and took the elevator up to her room.
“This is the last time Laymon is seen alive,” prosecutors said.
About 10 minutes later, Eberhart went to the room. The next day, Sept. 24, 2023, Eberhart is seen taking a luggage cart with what was eventually revealed to be Laymon’s hidden body on it. He walked to his car where he hoisted the victim’s body, wrapped in a sheet, into his trunk, which later tested positive for Laymon’s blood.
Eberhart tried to throw investigators off his trail by sending Laymon text messages telling her that if she did not return his vehicle he would have to find his own ride back to Georgia.
It would be another six months before authorities discovered Laymon’s body. Eberhart drove Laymon’s remains back to Decatur and disposed of the body. Georgia detectives worked with North Myrtle Beach investigators to piece together the case.
The defendant eventually admitted to killing his girlfriend and showed cops where he ditched her body. She was reportedly recovered on March 9, 2024.
“The defendant in this case went to great lengths to cover up the murder of Ms. Laymon, but Detective McCarter, the North Myrtle Beach Police Department, and various Georgia law enforcement agencies left no stone unturned,” Anthony DiChiara, an assistant solicitor, said in a statement. “We thank Law Enforcement for their relentless effort in bringing this defendant to justice.”
Laymon, who left behind a daughter, “lived a life filled with laughter, kindness and an unwavering tenacity,” her obituary said.
