Dismembered Corpse Of Missing Lake-Area Woman Is Found, But The Alleged Murderer Is Already Dead

MORGAN COUNTY, Mo. — Authorities say they have found the remains of a Morgan County woman missing for more than a year, and a man who allegedly helped hide the body has been charged. The murderer, however, may already be dead.

Darrell Dewayne Willis, a Rocky Mount man in his mid-40s, has been charged with four felonies in connection with the death of Joanna Anderson. Authorities say Willis, who was reportedly friends with Anderson before her death, was paid by her murderer, Charles Swon, to help dispose of the body. Swon has since died of cancer and was never charged with the crime.

The body was found, dismembered, in a barrel near Red Arrow Road in Rocky Mount.

According to the probable cause document for Willis’ arrest, Joanna Anderson was reported missing by her sister, Martha Mitchell, on May 17, 2016. Charles Swon, Anderson’s common-law husband, reportedly told Mitchell he too had not seen Anderson in several weeks. At the time, Anderson and Swon had been living at 26966 Highway Y in Rocky Mount.

More than a year later, authorities say Darrell Willis told them Swon killed Anderson in May of 2016, and Willis has reportedly confessed that he helped Swon move a 55-gallon drum containing Anderson’s body. According to the document, Willis said Swon paid him $2,000 to help move the barrel to a remote area amid some discarded boat dock foam. The barrel reportedly contained Anderson’s torso, but the head and hands were missing and police were unable to make an immediate identification of the body.

Authorities say Willis admitted to throwing away Anderson’s false teeth in a trash can at a local gas station after he moved the barrel. He also admitted to helping Swon destroy Anderson’s car, according to court documents. At the time, Swon had already been diagnosed with cancer, and he told Willis he did not want to spend his final months in a jail cell, according to the document. Willis had known Swon and Anderson for several years and had performed yard work and maintenance duties for them, according to the probable cause statement.

Swon died in July of 2017. Willis is charged with Class D Felony Abandonment of a Corpse and three counts of Class D Felony Tampering with Physical Evidence.