Pregnant woman set afire and killed in Richland County SC www.privateofficer.com

COLUMBIA, SC    March 2 2013

The Richland County Coroner’s Office says the woman found dead in the smoldering ashes of a woods fire off Screaming Eagle Road was 21 weeks pregnant.

Coroner Gary Watts says the still unidentified woman was shot dead and then set on fire.

Watts described the woman as an African-American between 20 to 35 years of age , 5’8″ tall and weighed between 120 and 135 pounds.

Sheriff’s Department spokesperson Curtis Wilson says the fire happened in the 3200 block of Screaming Eagle Road. Firefighters were called to the fire at about 2 p.m. Thursday. It took about four hours to put the fire out after five acres burned.

Investigators found the woman’s body once they had the fire under control.

“The only thing we really have right now is there was a woods fire and a female victim that was located in this fire,” said Wilson.

The Forestry Commission, the Coroner’s Office, the County’s Crime Scene Unit were all on scene working to figure out how the fire started and how the body ended up amidst the ashes.

“Right now it’s tough to determine given the condition of the body but we’ll try to gather as much as we can while we’re out here now and also work any leads that will help us identify this individual,” he said.

No other details have been released about the woman’s condition or how exactly she died.

“Now we have to piece together exactly who she is and of course who is responsible for what took place,” said Wilson.

The Richland County Sheriff’s Department will be going through its Missing Persons reports to find any potential matches.

If you have any information about this case, you are asked to call Crimestoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC.

Source:WIS

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