DALE COUNTY, Ala. (WDHN) — Two individuals have been arrested for the murder of Jenita Rose Maldonado, the mother of six who was found dead on June 3, in the woods off south Dale County Road 20, according to a press release.
Officers ruled her death as a suicide based on the information available at that time. A short time later the investigation revealed some inconsistencies in some of the developing information and continued to work it as a death investigation.
Dale County Sheriff’s Office arrested two suspects and have since been charged with Murder.
“I can’t stress enough how important it was for the public to come forward with different pieces of information that investigators were able to put together and bring justice for the victim,” Dale County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy, Mason Bynum said.
Laura Lovequist, 29, has been charged with murder and is in the Dale County Jail awaiting her first appearance.
John Wayne Sutton, 48, has been charged with murder and is currently in the Shelby County Jail on unrelated charges. He will be extradited back to Dale County and formally charged at a later date.