Death in Dolan Springs
The Murder of Chester “Chett” Williams and the Disappearance of Naoma Lapinski
In the summer of 2021, a routine home improvement project at a remote property in the Arizona desert uncovered a horrifying secret buried beneath a concrete slab.
What began as the discovery of unidentified human remains would eventually unravel into a decades-old homicide investigation, suspicion of fraud and manipulation, and the possible disappearance of an elderly woman whose family never realized she was gone.
A Grisly Discovery in Dolan Springs
Dolan Springs, Arizona, is a remote desert community in Mohave County where residents often rely on themselves for repairs and upkeep. In August 2021, a homeowner, Antonio (not his real name), was working on his property on North Drive with his son. They planned to remove an old slab beside the garage and replace it with a garden. As they broke apart the thin layer of concrete, Antonio’s shovel snagged on something...
According to Mohave County Sheriff’s Investigator Lori Miller, Antonio discovered a sock buried beneath the slab. Attached to the sock were human bones. Authorities were called and they secured the scene and obtained a search warrant. As investigators excavated the area, they uncovered a body wrapped in carpeting. The victim appeared to be an adult male. But what investigators found next made it immediately clear they were dealing with a homicide.
Executed While Sleeping
Investigator Miller said the victim’s head appeared to be resting on a pillow when he was buried. The skull showed catastrophic trauma, and investigators found evidence suggesting the man had been shot in the head while lying down, possibly sleeping. Fragments consistent with gunfire were embedded in the pillow itself.
The victim was described as either white or Hispanic, over 40 years old, between 5’7” and 5’9”, and weighing roughly 150 pounds. Autopsy findings confirmed the cause of death: multiple gunshot wounds to the head. Investigators also recovered what appeared to be part of an automatic weapon magazine near the victim’s head.
The question was obvious: Who was he?
The Challenge of Identifying “John Doe”
A forensic anthropologist estimated the remains had been buried anywhere from 1½ to 10 years. That timeline complicated the investigation.
Detectives began tracing ownership records for the property. The most recent owner lived out of state and reportedly rented the home to various people over the years. But investigators became particularly interested in earlier owners of the property: Bea and Alvin Hamilton.
The Hamiltons had lived there more than a decade before the remains were discovered, seemingly outside the anthropologist’s estimated timeframe. Still, investigators kept digging for information.
In 2023, the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office partnered with Othram, a Texas-based forensic genealogy company specializing in identifying unknown remains through DNA analysis. For more than two years, investigators pursued genetic leads with little success. Then, in 2025, everything changed.
A Daughter Comes Forward
After investigators posted information about the unidentified remains on social media, the daughter of Bea Hamilton, a former owner of the home on North Drive, called Investigator Miller.
She said there had once been a man living on the property who suddenly disappeared. His name was Chester “Chett” Williams. Investigators soon confirmed that old records listed the North Drive property as Chett’s residence. As Miller learned more, a troubling picture emerged.
According to Bea’s daughters, Chett was a musician, performer, and aspiring actor from Pennsylvania who had moved to Arizona in the late 1990s. Bea Hamilton, meanwhile, was described by family members as domineering and manipulative.
Investigators learned from one of the daughters that Bea had a prior conviction for theft and had served time in prison. Despite having no known record of steady employment, she never appeared to struggle financially. According to police interviews, Bea always seemed to have money, leading the daughters to suspect that Chett was providing her with financial support.
The Sudden Disappearance of Chett Williams
Around late 1999, Bea allegedly called one of her daughters claiming she and Chett had argued and that he had abruptly left. But the story didn’t add up.
According to police, the daughter went to her mother’s home after getting that phone call, finding the home dark, and the gate locked. The daughter reportedly climbed over the fence at which point Bea Hamilton directed her to leave the property. Investigator Miller told APB Cold Case that Bea’s daughter eventually returned to her mother’s home and found that Alvin Hamilton, her biological father and Bea’s on-again, off-again partner was suddenly back in the picture, and she also noticed that Chett’s belongings were still there:
His musical equipment
His tour bus
His brand-new Ford pickup truck
Nothing suggested a voluntary disappearance.
The rural property itself also raised questions. Located on isolated desert acreage, it was not the kind of place someone simply walked away from without transportation.
But there was one detail especially stood out - shortly after Chett vanished, Bea and Alvin Hamilton apparently poured a thin, crude, concrete slab near the garage next to a Joshua tree. When questioned by their daughter, they claimed a pet had died and they wanted to protect the remains from scavenging animals.
Did the Concrete Preserve the Body?
The timeline remained problematic. How could the remains be Chett? If he disappeared in 1999, why did the anthropologist initially estimate the burial to be more recent? Investigator Miller believes the conditions of the burial may have altered decomposition. The carpeting, concrete, and desert conditions could have partially preserved the body and protected it from scavengers and weather exposure, potentially skewing the forensic estimate.
Eventually, investigators located surviving relatives of Chett in Pennsylvania. A family member identified photos of the man living with Bea Hamilton as Chester “Chett” G. Williams III. Then the investigation took another shocking turn.
“So, Where Is My Grandmother?”
While speaking with one of Chett’s sons, he asked Investigator Miller a question she wasn’t expecting: “So, where is my grandmother?” Miller then learned that Chett had not traveled to Arizona alone in 1999. He had brought his elderly mother, Naoma Lapinski, with him.
Naoma was around 80 years old at the time and recovering from serious injuries suffered in a devastating Pennsylvania car crash.[1][2] Chett’s son told investigators that after Chett left for Arizona with Bea Hamilton and Naoma, communication with the family essentially stopped.
The Power of Attorney
As investigators dug into records connected to Naoma Lapinski they discovered disturbing details. In June 1999, shortly before Naoma disappeared, she signed a power of attorney granting Bea Hamilton authority over her affairs — particularly matters related to her car accident and finances.
Investigators also discovered that Bea Hamilton “Williams” had been added to the deed of Naoma’s Pennsylvania home. Then, on October 7, 1999, Bea sold Naoma’s home for approximately $136,000 while acting as her power of attorney.
Curiously, the power of attorney was granted to Bea — not Chett, Naoma’s own son. There was also no record that Bea and Chett had ever legally married, despite Bea using the surname “Williams”.
A Welfare Check and a Vanishing Elderly Woman
On July 4, 1999, someone, presumably a family member in Pennsylvania, requested that police conduct a welfare check on Naoma in Dolan Springs after learning about the power of attorney arrangement. Authorities reportedly could not make contact with her or anyone at the residence.
Family members later told investigators they had no knowledge of Naoma’s death - no obituary existed -there was no burial record -and no death certificate could be found in Pennsylvania, Arizona, or Nevada.
The burial plot beside Naoma’s husband in Pennsylvania remained empty.
Investigators then uncovered another strange detail. At some point, Social Security records indicated that someone reported Naoma dead in 2013 — fourteen years after she vanished. But who made the report remains unclear.
A Possible Second Burial Site
By 2025, investigators officially identified the remains buried beneath the concrete slab as Chester “Chett” G. Williams III. That confirmation prompted another search of the property for Naoma.
Using cadaver dogs, investigators searched for signs of additional human remains. The dogs repeatedly alerted not near Chett’s burial site — but near the fence line of an adjacent vacant lot.
Investigators obtained a search warrant and excavated the area.
They discovered:
A bone fragment
A woman’s sock
Pieces of tarp
Darkened soil consistent with apparent decomposition
A forensic anthropologist told investigators the evidence suggested human decomposition may indeed have occurred there. However, the remains recovered were too limited to confirm whether they were human or linked to Naoma Lapinski. Investigator Miller believes further searches are necessary.
Suspects Who Will Never Face Trial
Alvin Hamilton died in 2006. Bea Hamilton died in 2018 after reportedly suffering from dementia.
According to Investigator Miller, had they still been alive, both would likely have faced murder charges in connection with Chett Williams’ death. But because both died before investigators uncovered the full scope of the case, prosecutors can never bring the matter to trial.
That leaves investigators with a homicide victim, a likely second missing victim, and countless unanswered questions.
“Justice for the Forgotten”
Today, Investigator Lori Miller and the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Unit continue searching for answers about Naoma Lapinski. Their work is guided by the phrase on a sign displayed in Miller’s office: “Justice for the forgotten.”
For Miller, Naoma is no longer simply a missing person buried in forgotten records. She was someone who lived, mattered, and deserves to be found.
Investigators still hope someone may come forward with information that could finally reveal what happened in the Arizona desert more than 25 years ago. Considering the remoteness of the property in and around the Hamilton’s former home, Inv. Miller is determined to go back for a better look. “I want to dig, literally and figuratively. I want to follow the animal trails, I want to look under the bushes, I want to see if I can come up with anything else that might help me to identify her.”
Police Seeking Information
If you have any information concerning:
Chester “Chett” Williams III
Naoma Lapinski
Bea Hamilton
Alvin Hamilton
Please contact Investigator Lori Miller with the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office at 928-753-0753.
Additional case materials, including map, timeline, a Who’s Who and photographs are available at APBColdCase.com.
Click button below to listen to this episode. And check out our show notes including map, timeline, a Who’s Who and photographs at www.apbcoldcase.com and listen on all major podcast platforms
©2026 The Spawn Group, LLC; All right reserved
[1] Motor vehicle crash in Montgomery, PA; The Philadelphia Inquirer, Apr. 30, 1997, p. 98
[2] Woman, 66, is hurt in three-car crash; The Morning Call, May 1, 1997, p.18