Beverly Carter: Body of estate agent found in shallow grave

Her husband received a series of uncharacteristic texts the night she disappeared

The body of an estate agent who went missing last Thursday in the southern US state of Arkansas has been found in a shallow grave.

Beverly Carter, 49, disappeared after she went to show a potential client around a home in a suburban area of Little Rock, the state capital.

The estate agent’s husband reported her missing when she did not contact him after the appointment.

At around 1am on Friday morning, he received three out-of-character text messages in a row from his wife's phone.

The first read simply: “Yes.”

The next said: “My phone's low. The battery's down, and I'll call you whenever I get signal.”

The final message read: “Oh, I'm out drinking with some friends” - though Mr Carter said his wife was not a drinker, CBS News reported.

At the show home, the door was left open, and police officers found Carter’s handbag and purse in her car parked outside.

On Monday morning, Arron M. Lewis, 33, was arrested and charged with kidnapping Carter, broadcaster THV11 reported.

Early on Tuesday, she was found in a shallow grave by the roadside of a property in Pulaski County, according to Pulaski County Sheriff’s office.

Following the discovery of Carter’s body, Lewis now faces capital murder charges, according to police.

After police questioned Lewis for 12 hours, he admitted he abducted Carter by would not disclose where her remains were hidden. Eventually, a tip-off lead them to the address where officers found her body.

As Lewis was being escorted from jail to the sheriff’s office, he told reporters that he did not kill Carter, and described her as “a woman that worked alone - a rich broker”.

In a statement, her family said they were “devastated at the loss of our precious Beverly”.

“There is now a hole in our hearts that will never be filled. Her grandkids will never get to the know the magnitude of her greatness,” the statement seen by news website KARK read.

They went on to thank the law enforcement for their “diligence” in finding Carter, and “every person" that aided their search efforts.