AL - Melea Ponder White, 31, found murdered, Fairhope, 1 Dec 2014

Melea Ponder White, 31, was last heard from on the morning of Dec. 1. Police investigators say White told someone she was going to Babbs Fitness, then to work. She never showed up for work.

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A 31-year-old Fairhope woman, who had been reported missing on Dec. 3, was found dead in her car in a rural area east of Fairhope...

Melea Ponder White's car was spotted by an Alabama Department of Public Safety helicopter that was assisting Fairhope police in the search, according to Fairhope police spokesman Sgt. Craig Sawyer.

The vehicle, a white 1998 Toyota Camry, was located on private property near Baldwin County 48 and Langford Road. The intersection is near Bohemian Park, a popular summer watering hole on Fish River. Sawyer said the car was not found at the park but on nearby property behind a locked gate.

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On December 13, 2014, investigators with the Fairhope Police Department obtained a warrant for the arrest of Mr. Kenneth Morgan Styron, age 37, of Fairhope, charging him with murder. Mr. Styron has been booked into the Fairhope Municipal Jail pending transfer to the Baldwin County Correction Center in Bay Minette.

Examination revealed that Ms. White had died of a gunshot wound. During the investigation into Ms. White’s death, the investigators located sufficient evidence to establish probable cause for Mr. Styron’s arrest. The facts of the investigation show that Ms. White was killed at Mr. Styron’s address in the 20000 Block of Kenneth King Lane in Fairhope, which is within approximately one mile of the location where she was recovered.

Ms. White and Mr. Styron had previously been in a dating relationship.

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