From WRAL.com

Posted: Nov. 17, 2009
Updated: Nov. 18, 2009

GRANVILLE COUNTY — The husband of a Granville County woman missing for more than a year has been charged with first-degree murder in the case.

Family members of Kelly Morris, 28, also said Wednesday that authorities notified them that skeletal remains found Tuesday afternoon in the southern part of the county are those of the mother of two.

Morris was last seen Sept. 3, 2008. The following day, the house she shared with her family at 3220 Tump Wilkins Road caught fire, which officials ruled was arson. Hours afterward, authorities found Morris' car about a mile from her home with her keys, purse and cell phone inside.

William Scott Morris, 35, of 113 W. Church St., Creedmoor, was taken into custody and charged Tuesday evening. In addition to murder, he also faces a charge of fraudulently burning a dwelling.

Law enforcement officials, however, have not commented on the investigation or a possible motive and have not identified the remains.

Meanwhile, Kelly Morris' father and stepmother – Pat and Juanita Currin – have filed a petition for custody of the Morrises' 6-year-old daughter. A second daughter is Kelly Morris' from a previous relationship.

Chief District Court Judge Daniel Finch on Tuesday signed an emergency order that states that Kelly Morris was likely the victim of a homicide and that Scott Morris was likely involved in her death.

A custody hearing is scheduled for Friday.

The order states that Scott Morris had the “intent to deceive” investigators, made numerous inconsistent statements to authorities about his whereabouts the day his wife went missing and will likely be charged with kidnapping and/or murder.

The order further suggests that Scott Morris' father, Jimmy Morris, might have been involved in a cover-up.

According to search warrants in the case, family members and friends told authorities the couple was having marital problems and had talked about divorce. They also indicate inconsistencies between Scott Morris' account and those of others regarding his actions in the hours after he says he last saw his wife and the following day.

Family members, authorities and volunteers from as far away as Texas have searched relentlessly over the past year for Kelly Morris.

"We search somewhere every day – every road, every path, farms, fields – looking for her," her father, Pat Currin, said in an interview with WRAL News in March.

Currin said then that he didn't think he would ever find his daughter alive but that he wouldn't stop looking until he could bring her home.

"Kelly's got two small girls, 5 and 8 years old. They need to know where their mama is – obviously as bad or worse than we do," he said. "My determination is driven because of her children."