Woman lured man to Midlands business where he was robbed and killed, deputies say

A woman was arrested on multiple charges, including murder, weeks after a man’s body was found inside a Midlands business, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office said.

On July 18, Priscilla Graves lured Willie McDuffie to the auto repair garage where he worked, the sheriff’s office said in a news release. At the maintenance shop in the 1500 block of Airport Road, McDuffie was robbed of a large sum of money and shot several times, according to the release.

The 70-year-old Lee County resident died at the scene and his body wasn’t found until the following morning, when the maintenance shop was about to open for business, the sheriff’s office said.

Graves, a 30-year-old Sumter resident, had asked McDuffie to meet at the shop to discuss plans for work on her vehicle, according to the release. She then conspired with another individual to use a weapon and rob McDuffie, the sheriff’s office said.

The person Graves is accused of planning the armed robbery with was not identified.

On July 28, Graves was arrested on a conspiracy to commit armed robbery charge, according to the release. Information about how investigators connected Graves to the shooting was not available.

After the initial arrest and more evidence was verified, Graves was also charged with murder on Aug. 2, the sheriff’s office said.

Bond was denied and Graves is being held at the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office Detention Center, according to the release.

Deputies said the investigation is still ongoing and more arrests are expected.

The auto shop is close to North Main Street, not far from the intersection of Broad Street and U.S. 76.

“This business is a small close-knit group of family and friends, and they used their skills to help others,” Sumter County Sheriff Anthony Dennis said when McDuffie’s body was found in July.