Stephanie Nicole Burnett, known by friends and family as Nicole, told ex-boyfriend Matthew John Wiedeman that she wanted to keep the baby and marry him, according to Richmond County Sheriff's Office Maj. Ken Autry. But Mr. Wiedeman, 16, wanted her to have an abortion and didn't know how he would tell his own father about the pregnancy, Maj. Autry said.

On Monday, police charged Mr. Wiedeman and his friend, Raymond Anthony Soto, 17, with hatching a plan to lure Nicole out of her house late Sunday and kill her.

Police said Nicole's brother discovered her body about 7 a.m. next to their house in a parking lot behind Security Specialists on Peach Orchard Road.

Nicole had been beaten with a steel dumbbell and stabbed repeatedly. "I think it's one of the most gruesome ones I've seen," Deputy Coroner Grover Tuten said.

Mr. Wiedeman, a high school dropout who lived with his father on Brookshire Drive, was charged with murder and taken to the Augusta Regional Youth Detention Center. Police plan to try him as an adult.

Mr. Soto, 17, was a former Academy of Richmond County student and was living temporarily with Mr. Wiedeman. He was charged with murder and possession of a knife during the commission of a crime and was being held in the Richmond County jail without bond.

Nicole's body will be sent to the state crime lab this morning for an autopsy, where officials will determine whether she was pregnant. The teen suspect could face additional charges if the pregnancy is confirmed, Maj. Autry said.

Maj. Autry said the killing occurred between 10 p.m. Sunday and midnight. Mr. Soto apparently knocked on the girl's window and persuaded her to crawl out to talk with Mr. Wiedeman, he said.

She followed Mr. Soto to the parking lot nearby, where Mr. Wiedeman attacked her from behind with a barbell, Maj. Autry said. Police suspect Mr. Soto used a long-bladed knife during the attack.

On Monday, homicide Investigator Richard Roundtree discovered beneath a storm drain on Woodside Road what police say are the two weapons used in the slaying.

Meanwhile, word of Nicole's slaying spread quickly across campus. Butler High administrators made counselors available and let some of the girl's friends leave school early, Richmond County schools spokesman Justin Martin said.

At her home in the 3400 block of Peach Orchard Road, the Burnett family was reacting to the death and struggling to handle the financial burden of burying Nicole.

"It's not something we ever planned on, especially for a 16-year-old," older sister Rebecca Burnett said. "We're thinking more along the lines of buying her a car, not a casket."

The family described Nicole as an active teen-ager who loved animals and crafts. She was looking forward to getting her letterman's jacket this year in soccer and dreamed of becoming a real estate agent.

A dumbbell rod found lying in a storm drain is suspected to be one of the weapons used to kill Stephanie Nicole Burnett. ANDREW DAVIS TUCKER/STAFF

Recently, though, Nicole had struggled in her relationship with Mr. Wiedeman and had broken up with him, said Sandra Wheeler, the victim's stepmother.

"We wouldn't allow him here because he doesn't go to school," she said. "He just wasn't the right type of person that we wanted Nicole to associate with."

Despite what police say about the motive for the killing, Ms. Wheeler said she does not believe her stepdaughter was pregnant.

"If that's why she was killed, they need to take that little bastard and hang him," Ms. Wheeler said. "That was no reason to hurt her."

The funeral is planned for 1 p.m. Thursday at Hatcher Funeral Home with visitation at 7-9 p.m. Wednesday.

RECENT HOMICIDES

Richmond County went 102 days without a homicide in 2002. Stephanie Nicole Burnett is now the fourth homicide in nine days reported to the sheriff's office. Here are details of the first three:

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Victim: Gary Collins, 46, of Evans

Circumstances: Police say he was shot in a drug deal gone bad at a Jefferson Street home. James W. Looper and Kenneth Pruitt, both of Augusta, have been charged with murder.
Read the story

Victim: Marty Gibson, 48, of Augusta

Circumstances: His body was found floating in Lake Olmstead. Police classified the death as a homicide because of evidence at the scene. No one has been charged.
Read the story

Victim: Anthony Campbell Jr., 26, of Augusta

Circumstances: Police say he was shot at his Summerville Apartments home after a dispute with Rufus Owens Jr. over a slumber party guest. Mr. Owens was charged with murder Monday.
Read the story

Reach Greg Rickabaugh at (706) 828-3851 or greg.rickabaugh@augustachronicle.com.