NEWARK, Ohio — The Licking County Sheriff's Office is investigating the death of a woman after investigators found her body buried outside of her home Thursday.
According to the sheriff's office, deputies were executing a search warrant for 67-year-old Debra Perrine last Friday. The search warrant resulted from a welfare check requested by family members who had not been able to reach her for a week.
When they arrived at Perrine's home in the 200 block of Darlene Drive in Newark, deputies found her son, 40-year-old David Perrine, along with another subject described as male.
Deputies were not able to locate Debra immediately, but found evidence in the house that suggested foul play and an attempt to remove evidence.
David was arrested and taken to the Licking County Jail for a pretrial bond violation. The other male subject on the scene was not arrested, according to the sheriff's office.
On Thursday, sheriff's detectives and investigators from the Ohio Bureau of Investigation and Identification found an area on the property of the home that indicated "recent displacement of ground," a release says. Upon digging up the site, investigators uncovered the body of Debra, which had signs of trauma, indicating foul play.
David remains incarcerated and is a person of interest in the incident, according to the sheriff's office. Debra's death is now being investigated as a homicide.
If anyone has information regarding this incident, they are asked to call the Licking County Sheriff’s Office.
