Carol Paul Cormier pleaded guilty yesterday in Mathews Circuit Court to the July 2025 murder of 54-year-old Chad Wayne Ashford and 56-year-old Audrey Elaine Hudgins, receiving 48 years, five months of active incarceration, including eight years of mandatory time incarceration, according to the terms of the plea agreement. Cormier, 33, of Cardinal, appeared in court during the Mathews Circuit Court’s March term day, Wednesday, March 25, to enter the plea, which was accepted by Circuit Court Judge William H. Shaw III. Cormier pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, two counts of desecration of a body and arson of an occupied dwelling. Pursuant to the terms of the plea, charges against Cormier of second-degree murder, shooting in the commission of a felony and possess firearm after a non-violent felony conviction within the past 10 years (two counts each) were nolle prosed and removed from the court docket. The ple...