Susan Maudlin
Corey Binderim
Man charged with murder after remains of missing Fleming Island woman found
Susan Mauldin, 65, had been missing since Oct. 23
By News4JAX.com
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Remains that were recovered from a Georgia landfill have been identified as those of a missing Fleming Island woman, and a contractor she once hired has been charged with her murder, investigators revealed Saturday.
Sources first confirmed to News4Jax on Friday that the remains of of Susan Maudlin, 65, were found during a search of the Chesser Island Landfill in Georgia.
“The search was conducted over a 10 day period where approximately 7,300 tons of waste was processed. Human remains were discovered on the ninth day of the search,” said Clay County Sheriff Darryl Daniels. “As a result, the Georgia Bureau of Investigations assisted in the identification of the remains where it was determined to be that of Susan Mauldin.”
Daniels said an arrest warrant was then signed for Binderim on charges of murder and tampering with evidence. He’s scheduled for arraignment next week.
Binderim, who was originally called a person of interest in the case, has been in the Duval County jail on a forgery charge that’s unrelated to the woman’s disappearance. He was a contractor who was hired by Mauldin.
According to Rachel Rojas, the FBI Jacksonville Special Agent in charge, 213 personnel members were called throughout the week to assist. Each day, there were 70 to 90 personnel members on site, which included 40 people searching.
On the ninth day, investigators found what appeared to be a portion of a skull. The following day, more remains were found, and dental records confirmed the remains belonged to Mauldin.
“We know how difficult this news is to Ms. Mauldin’s friends and neighbors. We are also relieved and thankful that we have some answers that we can provide to them today," Rojas said.
‘A needle in a haystack’
Daniels on Saturday said as part of the investigation, the Rosemary Hill Waste Management transfer facility in Clay County was a place of interest for detectives. He said investigators learned Rosemary Hill is a transport facility that moves waste to the Chesser Island Landfill, leading to the relentless search in Georgia.
The Chesser Island Road Landfill is the same landfill the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office searched for the body of Joleen Cummings in 2018 without success. The landfill was also searched after 16-year-old Iyana Sawyer vanished in 2018. An indictment later determined Sawyer was shot by her uncle.
It’s also where Clay County Sheriff’s Office detectives found the body of 7-year-old Somer Thompson in 2009.
Rojas said it’s the first successful recovery of human remains processed in a landfill by the Jacksonville FBI since Somer’s body was found.
The FBI on Friday announced the extensive search “yielded several items of interest in the investigation.” An FBI spokesperson said those items are now undergoing testing.
State Attorney Melissa Nelson said that it has been an exhaustive investigation and that no stone was left unturned. Nelson said investigators do not plan to make any additional arrests.
“This is like searching for a needle in a haystack,” Nelson said. “They did this for one reason: A relentless search for truth.”
https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/...-island-woman/
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