Posted on 12/27/2011 9:44:38 AM PST by marktwain
A Lancaster County woman was beaten to death in Kershaw County with a baseball bat after being kidnapped and assaulted, authorities said.
A suspect is in custody and the attack appears random, Kershaw County Sheriff Jim Matthews said.
“This was a horribly brutal and senseless crime,” he said. “One of the worst I have ever seen.”
According to Matthews:
Beverly Hope Melton, 30, of the Town of Kershaw, was in a convenience store around noon Monday and reportedly was harassed by a man later identified as Nickolas Jermaine Miller, 23.
Around 1:15 p.m., Melton’s grandmother contacted Chesterfield County sheriff’s deputies to report that Melton had called her to tell her she was frightened by a man who was following her. It was her last contact. Soon after, Chesterfield deputies found Melton’s still-running car in reverse, stuck in a ditch on Angelus Road near Jefferson.
Officers then returned to the convenience store and retrieved video footage showing Melton and a man someone recognized as Miller, of Jefferson. Miller’s vehicle also could be identified, so an alert was put out for law enforcement to be on the lookout for it.
A Chestefield County deputy stopped Miller and Miller voluntarily followed him to the Jefferson Town Hall. It was not known at that time that a crime had occurred, Matthews said.
Hower, when questioned by Chesterfield County Sheriff Sam Parker, Miller reportedly said he had abducted Melton, assaulted her and then killed her.
Miller led Parker, a deputy and South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division officers to a secluded area off Sandy Grove Road in the Mount Pisgah area of Kershaw County, Matthews said.
It was dark by then, but around 6 p.m. a SLED helicopter equipped with infrared sensors spotted Melton’s body about 20 yards from the small search party, behind two abandoned turkey barns.
Kershaw County is leading the homicide investigation, but Matthews credited Chesterfield officers for doing most of the work already.
An autopsy on Melton’s body will be performed in Newberry County. Miller is being held at the Kershaw County Detention Center on charges of murder and possibly criminal sexual conduct.
He also faces charges of kidnapping and possibly criminal sexual conduct in Chestefield County. Because of the seriousness of the charges, Miller’s bond hearing will be presided over by a circuit court judge rather than a magistrate. That has not been scheduled.
Miller has no criminal record known to South Carolina law enforcement. He also has no known connection to Melton.
“It appears to be random, which is what makes it so scary,” Matthews said. “If this woman had had a concealed weapons permit and a firearm, this would not have happened. That’s why I advocate for people getting them.”
Matthews said Miller was calm this morning and had not asked for an attorney.
Melton was married, but Matthews did not know if she had children.
Nice to see the sheriff wanting people to protect themselves.
What an horrific crime. If she were armed the outcome could have been different and quite excellent.
Hat tip to BykrBayb.
http://www.wmbfnews.com/story/16397367/man-in-custody-after-leading-deputies-to-body
Pictures of the victim and the perp. About what you would expect, a priori.
If someone is following you, don't call grandma. What's grannie going to do? Call 911 and then pull over. When the nice man with the baseball bat knocks your window out and starts to grab you - empty the .38 special in his face and torso area.
what's the score now?.....100 whites killed weekly by these animals?.....
I suppose this guy was "nice"....
Since she had no firearm, why would she call her grandmother instead of driving to the police station and go in to report the harassment? I'm sure they'd be willing to help in some way.
Her car was found in reverse running, in a ditch, he probably used his car to cut her off
Police stations are pretty sparse in rural areas - she would have done better to never leave the convenience store and call 911 from there or any public area
There but for the grace of God go any of us
Yep. Whenever I see the words “senseless” and “random” in the story, I know pretty much what to expect. If it were a black victim and a white perp, the journalist would have no problem figuring out the motive.
That guy reeks of lowlife...
Why wait for a trial. Just kill’em and throw him out back.
Of course.
People often 'blame the victim' because they want to feel the safety of knowing they would respond in a way that would result in a different outcome. Or some could be using this horror as a way to figure out what they should do - while they're NOT under the pressure of being terrified. Ether way, silverleaf - your response was insightful, empathic and probably very close to the truth of what happened... Thanks.
Ten minutes in his cell and me and my buddy armed with baseball bats would ensure there would be no need for an attorney or trial...just bring up in the hazmet team to do the cleanup.
It pains me to no end when these guys get arrested, what happened to curbside justice.
"Hate crime".
I’m sure his mama will be on TV any minute now saying he was a “good boy”.
“There but for the grace of God go any of us”.
You are so right, Silverleaf. How easy it is to point out what the victim did “wrong”. She could be any one of us and that is what is so darn frightening. This area doesn’t sound like a problematic “urban/thug” area. She was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time and God knows what she went through before she died.
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