CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- The man accused of abducting a Chesterfield County woman was charged with her murder. Ellis Dean Briggs, Jr., 27, of Dinwiddie County, was charged Monday with first-degree murder in the October 2020 death of Jasmine Moore.
Moore, 24, was last seen by friends on the night of October 3, 2020. Her car was found two days later on an I-95 on-ramp in Prince George County. One year later, hunters found Moore's skeletal remains in the woods off Anderson Mill Road.
Briggs was arrested for her abduction in December 2021.
That charge with withdrawn as the murder charge continues in circuit court.
Search warrants reveal on October 3, 2020, Moore drove to Brigg’s home in Dinwiddie to hang out. Briggs told detectives that the two went separate ways about an hour after drinking.
According to the court documents, cell phone records from both Moore and Brigg’s devices show they were together until the next morning including where Moore’s car was found abandoned off I-95.
CBS 6 Legal Analyst Todd Stone said there are challenges in this case because of the amount of time between Moore's disappearance and the discovery of her body.
"It'll be largely a circumstantial case," Stone said. "They've got the body and a location. From that location leads them to other things, like they look at cell phones, to see whether they were in that area at the time that they know the person went missing."
Search warrants of Brigg’s Malones Road home said detectives seized handguns and ammo. Investigators discovered a burn pit with bone fragments, spent cartridge cases, melted clothing, and a bullet where Moore’s body was found, according to the warrant.
Briggs remains in custody and will return to court for a hearing next month.
This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
