SC man charged with killing 65-year-old woman in her rural Lancaster County home
South Carolina deputies charged a Lancaster County man for killing a 65-year-old woman inside her home after breaking into the house and stealing her car, officials said Wednesday.
Lloyd Caldwell Jr., a 23-year-old from Heath Springs, was arrested Sunday in Chester for murder, burglary, grand larceny and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, according to sheriff deputies, prosecutors and jail records. His charges are connected to the death of 65-year-old Harriet Mahaffey, who was found dead in her Heath Springs home on March 5 after being shot several times, Lancaster County Sheriff Barry Faile said at a news conference Wednesday.
“This was a horrific crime, and one that has no logical explanation” Faile said Wednesday. “Ms. Mahaffey was shot and killed as she sat defenseless in her home.”
Relative finds body, stolen jeep seen in Charlotte
Mahaffey’s 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee was missing when police arrived at the scene after a family member found the front door unlocked and Mahaffey dead on the floor, Faile said.
An autopsy showed Mahaffey died on the afternoon of March 4, Faile said. Deputies found 11 shell casings at the scene.
There were no security cameras at the victim’s home, Faile said. Investigators developed evidence Caldwell had Mahaffey’s Jeep, including sightings of the Jeep in Charlotte and Chester, Faile said.
In response to a question from The Herald, Faile said investigators used license plate readers in areas around Charlotte and Upstate South Carolina. Faile did not give specifics about where or when the Jeep was seen by cameras.
Chester County Sheriff Max Dorsey, who was at the news conference, told The Herald Caldwell has previous connections to Chester.
Sheriff waited to disclose murder
Faile said authorities don’t know of any previous relationship between the suspect and victim, except that they both lived in the same small town of Heath Springs in southern Lancaster County. Faile called it a crime of opportunity, but did not offer any other specifics on the potential motive in the case.
Heath Springs has less than a thousand people and is located is south of Charlotte, southeast of Rock Hill and northeast of Columbia.
A task force of police from the FBI, State Law Enforcement Division, and Lancaster County and Chester County deputies arrested Caldwell in Chester Sunday morning, Faile said. Caldwell told investigators where the Jeep was nearby and the SUV was recovered, Faile said.
The sheriff said at the news conference he didn’t disclose the killing to the public before Wednesday because law enforcement “did not want word to get out that could ruin the opportunity to catch him.”
Police from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, the town of Great Falls, the city of Lancaster, and the S.C. Highway Patrol also were involved, officials said. Faile praised the multi-agency effort.
What happens next?
Caldwell remains jailed without bail at the Lancaster County jail.
William Frick, 6th Circuit Public Defender, told The Herald Wednesday his office expects to represent Caldwell. Frick declined comment on the case.
A conviction for murder and burglary carries up to life in prison under South Carolina law. Because the case involves a murder and a connected burglary, prosecutors could choose to seek the death penalty.
Sixth Circuit Solicitor Randy Newman said at the news conference prosecutors “are not there yet,” in determining whether to seek capital punishment.
