A h.o.m.i.c.i.d.e investigation is underway in South Carolina after two women’s bodies were found in a rural area in Sumter County, about 40 miles east of Columbia, police said.
A landowner found the bodies in a cleared area on his land, Sumter County Sheriff Anthony Dennis said at a news conference on Tuesday. The women appeared to have been k.i.l.l.e.d elsewhere before their bodies were deliberately placed in the clearing, Dennis said.
The victims were identified as Kristen Grissom, 38, and Christine Marie McAbee, 35, Dennis said. An autopsy found that McAbee d.i.e.d from a g.u.n.s.h.o.t wound, Sumter County coroner Robert M. Baker Jr. said Tuesday. An autopsy for Grissom was ongoing at the time of the news conference, Baker said.
McAbee’s d.e.a.t.h is being investigated as a h.o.m.i.c.i.d.e, and Grissom’s d.e.a.t.h is being investigated as a potential h.o.m.i.c.i.d.e, Baker said. Grissom’s d.e.a.t.h will remain a potential h.o.m.i.c.i.d.e until the autopsy results are returned.
The women had likely been d.e.a.d for about a day before they were found, Baker said. Fingerprints, DNA analysis and tattoos were used to identify the women.
Grissom was from North Charleston and McAbee was from Walterboro, police said. The two women knew each other, Dennis said, but it’s not clear how close they were.
Dennis did not say if police had a suspect at the time of the press conference. He said the sheriff’s office has received multiple tips related to the case. Dennis said that the incident appears isolated and that there is no threat to the public.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the sheriff’s office.
