Sheriff: Two Charged in Abingdon Murder

Two people are charged in the murder of a man whose body was found over the summer in Abingdon.

Deputies responded Aug. 12 to a call about a decomposing body near the Elks Lodge on Harford Boat Club Road and found Travis Harrell Best, 34, of the 100 block of Fuller Avenue, deceased, the Harford County Sheriff’s Office reported.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined Best had been shot, and his death was ruled a homicide, according to the report.

Best’s estranged wife and her boyfriend have been charged, the sheriff’s office announced Wednesday.

Related: Murder Investigation Underway in Abingdon

Lauren Paulette Valiquet, 28, of Baltimore, and her boyfriend Walter McMillan Dorsey, 33, of Baltimore, are charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and using a firearm to commit a felony, the sheriff’s office reported.

Authorities said Best was planning to visit Valiquet and their children on Aug. 5, and Dorsey—who at some point in the past had gotten into a physical altercation with Best—was at the location, the report said.

Best’s family reported him missing on Aug. 9, according to the sheriff’s office, which said he was last seen at 12:45 a.m. on Aug. 6 in the 7000 block of Harford Road.

Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said that phone records helped link Valiquet and Dorsey to the scene in Abingdon, according to WBAL, which reported there was DNA evidence as well.

The TV station said that Valiquet and Dorsey were involved in drugs, and Best had been trying to custody of his children but could not prove that Valiquet was dangerous.

Booking photos of Lauren Valiquet and Walter Dorsey are courtesy of the Baltimore County Police Department.