DNA identifies woman's remains, linking four suspects to second Virginia murder

In late March, a property owner in Caroline County, Virginia discovered human remains on their land and called 911. The body lay there for months, unidentified—a mystery that would eventually unravel into something far larger: evidence of two premeditated killings connected by four young suspects, forensic science, and a web of violence that authorities are still working to fully understand.

The remains belonged to Helen Marie Pullen Banks, a 56-year-old from Culpeper. It took extensive DNA analysis to confirm her identity, work that wasn't completed until July 7—more than three months after she was found. By then, investigators had already arrested four people in connection with a second murder: Rashad Antonio Mayfield, 21; Devonti Gregory Pettaway, 19; Jaden Lamont Phillips, 20; and Kennady Jade Lambert, 18. All four were being held without bond on charges related to the death of Jayden McComber, an 18-year-old whose body was discovered in a pond near the Caroline County line on March 31.

The timing was not coincidental. McComber disappeared the same day Banks' remains were found. His vehicle turned up the next day in Virginia Beach, and when investigators processed it, they uncovered what authorities described as valuable leads that would eventually point them toward the four suspects and help them locate McComber's body. A search of a Henrico County residence linked to Mayfield yielded personal belongings believed to have belonged to McComber when he vanished. Mayfield was arrested during a traffic stop at that location; a handgun was seized from him, though authorities have not said whether it was used in either killing. The other three suspects were arrested simultaneously at an apartment on Kenway Avenue in Henrico, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force.

Ballistic testing, conducted with help from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, produced forensic evidence linking the two murders. Yet the motive remains opaque. Investigators say both Banks and McComber knew at least one of the suspects before they died, but they found no evidence of conflict or dispute between the victims and their alleged killers. What emerged instead was a picture of calculated violence—what authorities characterized as premeditated and deliberate acts carried out without apparent reason.

The discovery of Banks' remains had shaken the property owner who found them. When deputies and investigators arrived at the scene, they encountered what Sheriff Scott Moser later called deeply disturbing. The sheriff's office alleged that those responsible had taken what it described as sick and deliberate measures to conceal Banks' identity, though authorities have not publicly detailed what those measures were. When Banks was finally identified on July 7, investigators met with her family that evening to deliver the news. She was born in Charlottesville and had lived in Rixeyville. She left behind five children, her mother, two siblings, ten grandchildren, one great-grandchild, and an extended family. In a statement, her family wrote that Helen was far more than the circumstances of her death—a daughter, sister, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.

McComber's family, too, had to reckon with loss. The week-long search for him was, as they described it, a nightmare no family should endure. In their own remembrance, they wrote that Jayden had the biggest heart and never missed a chance to tell people he loved them. Those words, they said, mean everything now.

Sheriff Moser praised what he called the relentless work of investigators, describing the case as complex and difficult. The investigation has involved the Caroline County Commonwealth's Attorney's Office, the FBI, and the ATF. Authorities say they are not searching for additional suspects, though the case remains active and continues to develop.