Husband named suspect in wife’s homicide

A 40-year old Oconee man has been jailed in the investigation of his wife’s homicide.  The Sheriff’s Office late last night identified the accused as Lee Mikeal Cawthon of the Welcome Church Road near Westminster, jailed after investigators interviewed him about his missing wife, Rebecca A. Murray Cawthon.  She had been missing since the middle of last month.  Coroner Karl Addis says a body presumed to be that of Mrs. Cawthon was found last evening concealed in a garage/shop-type building on their property.  An autopsy will be performed tomorrow to assist in determining the actual cause of death. Mr. Cawthon was booked into the Oconee County Detention Center shortly before 8 pm on a temporary custody order and, according to the Sheriff’s Office, warrants will be obtained to formally charge him. “Due to the fact that this investigation remains active and ongoing, the Sheriff’s Office will not be releasing any further information at this time,” according to Captain Greg Reed of the Criminal Investigations Division of the Sheriff’s Office.