U.S. Man Suffers Fatal Heart Attack While Burying Strangled Girlfriend
In a chilling and tragic turn of events, a South Carolina man met his demise as he attempted to bury the lifeless body of his girlfriend, whom he had strangled to death, according to investigators.
Joseph McKinnon, aged 60, was discovered lifeless in his own backyard on a fateful Saturday, following a call made by concerned neighbors who had spotted an unresponsive man in the yard in Trenton, S.C., as reported by NBC News.
Upon arrival, the police made a grisly discovery – a body wrapped in trash bags carefully placed in a freshly dug hole. The victim was identified as McKinnon’s girlfriend, 65-year-old Patricia Ruth Dent.
In a subsequent development, autopsies were conducted on both bodies on Monday, as reported by ABC. The coroners’ findings were chilling: Dent had succumbed to strangulation, while McKinnon had died of a heart attack.
The discovery has left the community in shock and unease, with residents like Dawn Howanietz, who resides a block away from McKinnon’s residence, expressing their concerns about neighborhood safety. Howanietz voiced her apprehensions, saying, “We have no idea, and that’s what we’re asking about – at least let us know that it’s something they have in control or don’t have in control. Do we have to make sure everything is locked up tight, watch our dogs or our animals?”
Authorities have been diligently piecing together the grim sequence of events. According to a statement released by the police on Wednesday, evidence collected at the scene and witness statements have enabled investigators to construct a timeline suggesting that Mr. McKinnon assaulted Ms. Dent within their residence. Tragically, it appears that McKinnon passed away while attempting to conceal Dent’s lifeless body beneath the earth.
Pamela Briggs, Dent’s twin sister, expressed her disbelief at the shocking turn of events in an interview with the local news station WRDW. She revealed that there were no indications that her sister was in any sort of danger. She fondly remembered Patricia as a beloved figure in the community, stating, “Everybody who ever met her liked her. She was just full of energy. She was 65 and working.”
Briggs recounted receiving an alarming call from the golf course where her sister was employed on that fateful Saturday. The call was prompted by Patricia’s failure to show up for work, sparking a series of events that unraveled the grim truth. “She wanted to know if I knew where my sister was, and I said, ‘No, I have no idea,’ and then it just started to play out from there,” Briggs shared.
The tragic incident serves as a stark reminder of the unpredictability of human actions and the need for vigilance within communities. As authorities continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding this harrowing case, it remains a somber testament to the depths of human tragedy that can occur unexpectedly.