IREDELL COUNTY, N.C. — Deputies in Iredell County have charged a man with the murder of a missing Charlotte woman whose remains were found near a grocery store in Mooresville over a year ago.
On January 15, 2019, detectives were called to a wooded area off Bridgewater Lane in Mooresville after a report of someone finding human remains in a wooded area. Over the course of two days, investigators found about 70 human bones, which were collected. An autopsy revealed the cause of death to be a gunshot wound to the head.
The remains were then sent to a forensic lab for testing and positive identification. Last month, deputies positively identified the victim as Anastasia "Star" Talisha Meaders, a 29-year-old Charlotte woman who was last seen alive in June of 2016. Meaders' car was found abandoned in Mooresville's Liberty Park in July 2016.
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During the investigation, deputies identified Timothy Lavaun Crumitie, 54, as a suspect in the case. Crumitie was already serving a life sentence for the murder of Michael Gretsinger, and the attempted murder of Kimberly Cherry, Meaders' mother. Deputies say Gretsinger was Cherry's boyfriend. They were both killed in August of 2016 in Mecklenburg County. Crumitie was convicted in 2018 for those crimes.
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According to Iredell County investigators, Crumitie was the pastor of a church in Concord, where he met Kimberly Cherry and Anastasia Meaders.
In April of 2016, Crumitie was living with an older woman whose death was deemed suspicious. Deputies said Crumitie befriended the woman and became appointed as her power of attorney and executor of her estate during their year-long relationship.
Three years earlier, Crumitie's wife, Sharon Crumitie, was murdered in their home. Detectives said Crumitie was home when a man named James Banks allegedly tried to break in. During the break-in, Banks reportedly shot Crumitie before Timothy Crumitie claimed he was able to wrestle the gun away from Banks and shot him in the head.
About five months later, Crumitie's home burned to the ground. Investigators determined the fire was intentionally set by Crumitie and he was arrested in March of 2014 for insurance fraud. In December of 2015, he was convicted of fraudulently burning a home.
Crumitie spent five years in jail for the murder of his business partner, Danny Daye Johnson, in 2005. He was released when the case was dismissed, according to police. In 1989, Crumitie was arrested for armed robbery in Onslow County. He was released in 1998 after serving eight years in prison for his conviction.