A North Myrtle Beach getaway ended in tragedy and a decades-long prison term, as a Decatur man was sentenced to 30 years on Tuesday in the death of a Duluth woman who vanished during their trip in September 2023. Prosecutors say hotel security footage later showed him moving what investigators believe was her body into his vehicle, and investigators located human remains in DeKalb County in March 2024. Authorities say they pieced the case together using hotel video, cellphone data and a coordinated effort across agencies, but they have not publicly released a cause of death.
Sentence and plea
Bornold Alastair Eberhart, 44, received a 30-year prison sentence in Horry County court after entering a plea in the case. Prosecutors said the sentence capped an investigation that began when the woman’s family reported her missing and police traced her last confirmed movements to a North Myrtle Beach resort, according to FOX 5 Atlanta.
Timeline of disappearance
According to prosecutors, Eberhart and Kristen Laymon traveled together to North Myrtle Beach in late September 2023. Surveillance video captured the two arguing in a vehicle before Laymon was last seen entering an elevator at about 2:12 a.m. on Sept. 23. When family members later reported her missing, investigators launched a cross-jurisdictional probe that followed the pair’s trail from the resort back to Georgia, as reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Hotel footage and evidence
Investigators released parking-garage footage that appeared to show a person matching Eberhart’s description rolling a bundled object into the trunk of a vehicle the day after Laymon disappeared. Authorities say blood later identified as Laymon’s was found inside that trunk. Prosecutors also say Eberhart sent text messages to Laymon’s phone afterward, then drove back to DeKalb County, where detectives later discovered human remains, according to WECT.
Investigation, reaction and unanswered questions
Eberhart was taken into custody in early March 2024, and authorities say they found what they believe were Laymon’s remains on March 9, 2024, in the 1800 block of Whitehall Forest Court in DeKalb County. The county medical examiner later determined that the limited skeletal remains did not allow for a definitive cause of death. Prosecutors credited a broad multi-agency effort and said investigators, in the words of an assistant solicitor, “left no stone unturned,” according to WMBF News.
Legal note
Officials say the case ended with a plea that avoided a full trial. Some coverage has described the filing as an Alford plea, which allows a defendant to accept punishment while maintaining innocence. An Alford plea is treated like a standard guilty plea for sentencing and is typically used when both sides agree that prosecutors have enough evidence to likely secure a conviction, according to WSB-TV.
