2 years after body found in manhole, local pair charged
EDGEFIELD, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division has charged two people in relation to a 2022 murder investigation in Johnston, according to the agency.
On Feb. 14, SLED charged Bernard Montreze Chinn, 31, with murder, removal of human remains and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.
SLED also charged Keyona Shauntay Butler, 28, with accessory after the fact to murder that same day.
76-year-old dies after Aiken County traffic accident
Aiken County Coroner Darry Ables said Thursday that 76-year-old Paul Morse died as a result of a crash that happened at 12:16 p.m. Saturday at Pine Log Road and Piney Heights Road.
According to arrest warrants, on Nov. 1, 2022, Chinn did knowingly and with malice afterthought kill the victim by shooting him multiple times with a firearm. The victim died from a gunshot wound to the head, according to the warrants.
The Edgefield County Coroner’s Office later identified the victim as Derrick Coleman, 41.
“After shooting Coleman, Chinn loaded Coleman’s body into the rear compartment of a SUV and transported it to the area of Sandra Drive in Johnston and disposed of it in a sewer manhole,” the arrest warrant states.
Coleman’s body was discovered on Nov. 4, 2022, and SLED was requested by the Johnston Police Department to investigate a death that day, according to officials.
According to arrest warrants, Butler knowingly and willfully assisted Chinn after the murder by allowing him to use her car to remove Coleman’s body from the scene of the shooting.
Teenager charged in Orangeburg murder of 48-year-old
A 17-year-old has been charged in connection to the deadly shooting of a man outside a store, according to the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety.
Arrest warrants state that the charges are based on physical evidence, video evidence and witness interviews.
The Edgefield County Sheriff’s Office and the Johnston Police Department assisted with the SLED investigation.
Chinn and Butler were booked into the Edgefield County Detention Center.
The case will be prosecuted by the 11th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
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