North Carolina woman arrested after her mother is found dead during wellness check

BUNCOMBE COUNTY, N.C. (TCN) -- Following a daylong search, a 39-year-old woman is in custody on suspicion of killing her mother after the victim's remains were found this week.

The Buncombe County Sheriff's Office first began a homicide investigation on Aug. 22. Deputies performed a wellness check at a home on Clarks Crossing Way and discovered 63-year-old Lori Pallinger deceased.

According to the Asheville Citizen Times, authorities asked the public to be on the lookout for Pallinger's daughter, Danya Dewey. A neighbor told WLOS-TV he allegedly saw Dewey walking down a wooded path with her face painted and wearing clothes that had "show me love" and other words handwritten on it.

Records show that deputies took Dewey into custody on Aug. 23. Sheriff's office spokesperson Christina Esmay told the Asheville Citizen Times that officials with the sheriff's office and Asheville Police Department found Dewey's vehicle, but she "refused to exit on command." Esmay said the Asheville Police Department's Crisis Negotiation Team "was able to deescalate the situation and convince her to exit the vehicle. She was taken into custody without incident."

Dewey remains held in the Buncombe County Jail without bond on a charge of first-degree murder. She is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 26.

Authorities did not release Pallinger's cause of death.

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