Co-worker charged in death of woman whose body was found in lake

<p>A Thomson man was been charged in the strangulation death of a female co-worker whose body was found in an Augusta-area lake this month, authorities said.</p><p>Danny Lee Samuels, 29, was arrested Friday and charged with murder.</p><p>Barbara Hefner's body was found floating in Folly Lake near Interstate 20 on March 6.</p><p>Hefner, 53, and Samuels worked together at Augusta Coating and Manufacturing, said McDuffie County Sheriff Logan Marshall. He would not discuss motive or what led to Samuels' arrest.</p><p>Hefner's brother reported her missing when she did not show up to go shopping with a friend. There was evidence that someone had entered her home, where she lived alone, and ransacked her bedroom.</p><p>Georgia Bureau of Investigation officials assisted the McDuffie County Sheriff's Office in the investigation.</p><p>___</p><p>Information from: The Augusta Chronicle</p>