Inset, left to right: Carol Cormier and Lacey Horsley (Mathews County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The home where the duo allegedly shot and killed two people (WVEC).
A 33-year-old man and his 18-year-old girlfriend in Virginia have been arrested and accused of killing a married couple in the victims’ home and fleeing the scene, only to return the following day and set the house on fire, authorities announced.
Carol Paul Cormier, the alleged shooter, is facing two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of 54-year-old Chad Wayne Ashford and 56-year-old Audrey Elaine Hudgins Mowrar. He is also charged with two counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a murder, one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and one count of burning or destroying a residential home.
Lacey Ann Horsley, the teen who allegedly drove Cormier to and from the crime scene, has been charged with two counts of acting as an accessory after the fact in a murder and one count of conspiracy to burn or destroy a residential home.
According to a news release from the Mathews County Sheriff’s Office, deputies and county Fire and Rescue personnel responded at about 10 p.m. on July 11, 2025, to a call regarding a structure fire at a home in the 17000 block of John Clayton Memorial Highway, which is about 150 miles south of Arlington, Virginia.
Upon arriving at the address, first responders observed flames coming from the home and battled the blaze until they forced their way in. Two adults were located in the house and pulled from the fire, but both were pronounced dead on the scene. They were later identified as Ashford and Mowrar.
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Deputies contacted the Virginia State Police Criminal Investigations Division, which assisted in processing the scene. Investigators soon discovered that the two victims both appeared to have suffered multiple gunshot wounds to their bodies.
With the assistance of the public, digital evidence, and license plate readers in the area, investigators were led to the City of Newport News to “pursue leads and a suspect vehicle.”
“Two suspects were located and Newport News Police initiated a traffic stop,” the release states. “The suspects fled on foot, however they were eventually detained.” The suspects were identified as Cormier and Horsley.
Authorities say that both victims were shot and killed by the suspects on Thursday, July 10. Afterwards, both suspects allegedly fled the scene.
“Then both suspects returned to the scene on Friday, July 11, 2025, with the plan to burn the house down to get rid of the evidence,” the release states.
Investigators then recovered the vehicle they say was used in the commission of the crime.
Court documents obtained by Hampton, Virginia, ABC affiliate WVEC reportedly state that during interviews with detectives, the defendants quickly turned on each other.
Horsley reportedly said she went to the home with Cormier and saw him get into an argument with Ashford, then pull out a gun and fire multiple times. When Hudgins attempted to call 911, Cormier allegedly shot her several times.
Horsley reportedly further admitted that she drove herself and Cormier from the scene and that the two returned to the home the following day to set it on fire and destroy any evidence of their crime, per the report.
Cormier allegedly told investigators he remembered “losing his temper” with Ashford, but said it was Horsley’s idea to burn down the house.
Following a Tuesday court hearing, Cormier’s mother, Tina Darby Kelley, told reporters that Hodgins had been “her best friend” for more than a decade and was also close with Ashford, according to the Portsmouth, Virginia, NBC affiliate WAVY.
Darby Kelley reportedly told the station she spoke to her son about the alleged crimes and he allegedly reaffirmed to his mother that he shot Ashford during an argument and then killed Hudgins because he “didn’t want any witnesses.” Darby Kelley said her son would not disclose what he argued about with Ashford.
Based on previous conversations with her son and Ashford, she further speculated that Cormier may have previously been in an intimate relationship with Ashford, which could have been a motivating factor in the alleged murder.
“I said, ‘If you are bisexual, that’s not going to make me not love you — because you’re my son,'” she said, recalling the conversation with Cormier. “That’s probably what may have been the cause, I don’t know.”
Cormier and Horsley are both being held in the Middle Peninsula Regional Security Center without bond. They are scheduled to appear in court again on the morning of Oct. 28.
