News13 learns more about Georgia woman killed in North Myrtle Beach
NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — A Georgia woman who authorities said was with her accused killer in North Myrtle Beach before she went missing in September had been working at a flower shop in Georgia before her disappearance, according to a former co-worker.
North Myrtle Beach police were contacted on Nov. 8 by police in Duluth, Georgia, about Kristin Laymon, who they said had not been heard from since Sept. 22. Duluth police said her last known location was at a resort in North Myrtle Beach.
Laymon was reported missing by her daughter on Oct. 9, according to a Duluth police report obtained by News13. Her daughter told police that Laymon had not been answering her phone calls and that they would go straight to voicemail.
Her daughter also said she had access to Laymon’s emails and her bank account, which showed she had received multiple overdraft emails and that her account had a negative balance, the report said. She said Laymon’s bank account had not been used since September, which was unusual because she was typically financially responsible.
Bornold Eberhart, 42, of Georgia, was arrested Friday on a murder charge and remains in jail in Horry County, North Myrtle Beach police said on Tuesday.
Laymon’s former co-worker told a News13 reporter on Wednesday that she had been working at a flower shop in Tucker, Georgia, but was fired about a month before she disappeared. The reason for her firing was not immediately known.
The person also said that Laymon was not dating Eberhart and that she had a different boyfriend.
North Myrtle Beach detectives verified that Laymon had come to the city on Sept. 22 and was with Eberhart. The department’s investigation revealed that Laymon and Eberhart got into an argument in the early morning of Sept. 23. Laymon was last seen alive entering an elevator at 2:12 a.m. that day.
Detectives think that Laymon was killed in the early morning hours of Sept. 23. A day later, police said Eberhart left North Myrtle Beach and returned to Dekalb County, Georgia, with Laymon’s body in his vehicle.
The investigation led detectives to obtain an arrest warrant for Eberhart on March 3, and North Myrtle Beach police detectives arrested Eberhart in Dekalb County. He was returned to North Myrtle Beach on Friday by the Horry County Sheriff’s Office and booked into the J. Reuben Long Detention Center, where he is being held without bond.
On Saturday, Dekalb County authorities found what is believed to be Laymon’s body in the 1800 block of Whitehall Forest Court. Police said they were waiting for the medical examiner to identify the body.
North Myrtle Beach police expressed gratitude to multiple agencies that worked to arrest Eberhart and bring the investigation one step closer to a close.
“The North Myrtle Beach Police Department would like to thank the following agencies for their assistance in this case,” the department said. “The Georgia Bureau of Investigation, The Dekalb County Police Department, The Federal Bureau of Investigation, The Newton County Sheriff’s Department, SLED, GEMA Body Recovery Team K-9’s, the South Carolina Highway Patrol and the Horry County Police Department”
Police said more information about the investigation will be released during a news conference at 2 p.m. Thursday at the North Myrtle Beach courtroom.
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News13 will have a crew at Thursday’s news conference. Count on us for updates.
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Dennis Bright is a Digital Producer at News13. He joined the team in May 2021. Dennis is a West Virginia native and a graduate of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Follow Dennis on, Facebook, X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here.
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Taylor Ford is a digital journalist for News13. She joined the News13 team in January 2023. Taylor is a Florence native and covers the Pee Dee out of News13’s Florence Bureau. Read more of Taylor’s work here.
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Hannah Huffstickler is a multimedia journalist at News13. She joined the News13 team in January 2024 after graduating from Coastal Carolina University in December of 2023. Keep up with Hannah on Facebook and Instagram. You can also read more of her work here.
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