CLAY COUNTY, Fla. — Four years later, the man accused in the death of a Clay County woman whose remains were found in a landfill in 2020 will begin trial. Opening statements in the trial of Corey Binderim start Thursday.
Binderim is accused of killing Susan Mauldin, who was 65 when she was killed. Mauldin had paid Binderim $12,000 to work on her Fleming Island home's bathroom, but she said he demolished the bathroom and didn't complete the work, according to police records. The Florida Times-Union reported that Mauldin planned to sue Binderim.
Mauldin was reported missing Oct. 24, 2019. Police say Mauldin was the last to see her, and initially he cooperated in the investigation, but he then disappeared.
Binderim was located and arrested on other charges in Jacksonville on Dec. 3, 2019. Then Mauldin's remains were found at Chesser Island Road Landfill in Folkston, Georgia on Jan. 29, 2020. Police announced Binderim would be charged in the murder shortly after.
An investigation by the Clay County Sheriff's Office showed that Binderim went to a Fleming Island Home Depot Oct. 24, the day Mauldin went missing, buying two 60-pound bags of concrete and large heavy-duty construction debris bags. They discovered he went to Mauldin's neighborhood and called her twice.
Video surveillance showed Binderim backed his pickup truck up to her garage about 8 a.m. that morning, then left a few minutes later, went to his home for 15 minutes and then drove to Rosemary Hill landfill in Clay County, dumping "approximately 300 pounds."
Police say they knew to search the Chesser Island Landfill because trash from Rosemary Hill is taken there.
Binderim's arrest warrant says other evidence included scratches on his arm and hand and blood found in Mauldin's home.
A CCSO K-9 also detected the odor of decomposition on Binderim’s tool bag and a plastic bin when a search was made of his storage unit, according to the warrant.
