After body discovered in burned car, two charged with first degree murder

Two people were arrested and booked into the Barry County Jail after they allegedly murdered a man and attempted to dispose of his body by burning it inside of his car. Brandy Coburn, 34, of Verona, and Jimmy Taylor, 46, of Exeter, are each charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action, abandonment of a corpse, and tampering with physical evidence. Taylor was booked into jail on Friday, March 21, and Coburn was booked on Wednesday, March 26.
The victim was identified by the Barry County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) as Marvin Lance McCullough, 55, of Aurora.
According to information provided by the BCSO, the Sheriff’s Office was notified on Thursday, March 20, that a body was found in the trunk of a burnt vehicle; the body was later identified as McCullough’s through DNA.
The car was found to be registered to McCullough’s mother. She told authorities that McCullough had her car, but she hadn’t seen him in several days.
According to a probable cause statement in the case, McCullough was murdered on either Monday, March 10, or Tuesday, March 11, in Verona. An investigator in the case reported that Taylor, in a post-Miranda interview, Taylor admitted he knew that Coburn wanted to lure McCullough over to her residence to “set him up.” He said that he handed McCullough a flashlight to look at some items in Coburn’s camper and that he was standing behind him when McCullough was shot in the back of the head. (In a separate probable cause statement, he was reported as saying Coburn shot McCullough in the back of the head while his attention was diverted). He also admitted that he and Coburn put McCullough’s body in the camper and left it there for three days, during which time he drove McCullough’s car on numerous occasions.
Meanwhile, in a separate probable cause statement, a person identified as Witness One told an investigator that Coburn told her that she (Coburn) shot McCullough in the head.
A second person, identified as Witness Two, said Coburn also told him that she shot McCullough in the back of the head and convinced him to help get rid of McCullough’s body. Witness Two said he helped load McCullough’s body in the trunk of his (McCullough’s) car, and that he, Coburn, and Taylor towed McCullough’s car to Shell Knob, and then steered it off the road to the bottom of a hill in Shell Knob. After that, Witness Two said, Taylor set fire to the car, and then they all three left in Witness Two’s truck.
A search warrant was executed on Coburn’s camper, and blood that was a DNA match to McCullough was reportedly found.
The investigator also interviewed Coburn, who said that it was Taylor who shot McCullough.
As of press time, both Coburn and Taylor remained in custody at the Barry County Jail. Both are due in court on Thursday, April 24, for a bond hearing.