A Kountze woman who stopped showing up for work earlier this month is still missing, and the man authorities describe as her boyfriend is now locked up on a $1 million bond, accused of her murder. Julia Renee Carter, 46, has not been found, and investigators say evidence points to domestic violence as the cause of her death.
Carter’s employer contacted the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office after she missed several days of work and asked deputies to check on her at a Kountze residence, according to KFDM. That welfare-check request on October 16 launched an investigation that has now stretched across much of East and Southeast Texas. The sheriff’s office said the man identified as Carter’s boyfriend is 42 years old, though the station spelled his name Daren Wayne Monk while 12News Now reported it as Darren Wayne Monk.
Hardin County Sheriff Mark Davis said evidence indicates Carter was the victim of domestic violence that resulted in her death, the station’s report states. Investigators identified Monk as a suspect, and 356th District Judge Steve Thomas issued an arrest warrant charging him with murder.
A Phone Call, Then a Disappearance
Monk spoke with law enforcement by telephone on the afternoon of October 16, but rather than cooperate, he fled the area, per the same account. Investigators say he refused to assist with the probe into Carter’s disappearance, and multiple agencies subsequently tracked his movements across several cities in East and South Texas as the search intensified…