Neighbors saw an unconscious 60-year-old South Carolina man in his backyard, and authorities uncovered a strange twist of fate. It appears he died of an apparent heart attack while burying his girlfriend’s body.
Sheriff’s investigate unconscious man, find dead body
On Saturday, May 7, 2022, deputies from the Edgefield County Sheriff’s Office in Trenton, South Carolina, were called out to a home on Tanglewood Drive after neighbors reported seeing an unresponsive man lying in his yard, local ABC affiliate WJBF reported.
Trenton is near the Georgia border, about 25 miles northeast of Augusta.
Deputies and EMS arrived and identified the unresponsive man as 60-year-old Joseph McKinnon. They noted the man had no signs of trauma, leading to speculation that “natural causes were suspected,” according to a release from the Sheriff’s office, CNN reported.
“Joseph Anthony McKinnon, 60, of the same address was found to be deceased in his yard,” officials explained the scenario in a joint statement.
That might have been the end of the story. But while some deputies notified the next of kin, others continued to investigate the scene they noticed a freshly dug hole.
Inside the pit, they discovered a body wrapped in trash bags, NBC reported.
Investigators determined the body was that of McKinnon’s girlfriend, identified as 65-year-old Patricia Ruth Dent, investigators said.
Strange twist of fate
Upon discovering the body, investigators said Dent “appeared to have died by foul play,” according to the release.
Further investigation led deputies to believe that McKinnon had attacked Dent inside their home, the release said
An autopsy was performed on Dent, and the Edgefield County Coroner’s Office ruled that her death was due to strangulation.
The Edgefield County Coroner’s Office also investigated McKinnon’s cause of death and ruled it to be a natural cause. According to the release, McKinnon suffered a “cardiac event” that caused his death.
Deputies said that McKinnon appeared to be nearly finished filling in the grave, then set the shovel down, walked away, and collapsed.
Twin confirms sister’s murder
Dent’s twin sister, Pamela Briggs, confirmed that Dent had been McKinnon’s live-in girlfriend, the Daily Wire reported.
“I would say a nightmare, and I want to wake up, and it’s a dream,” Briggs told reporters afterward. “I know it’s not. This is reality and life, and a big part of me is gone, and now I’m going to have to live with that.”
“Everybody who ever met her liked her,” Briggs added. “She was just full of energy. She was 65 and working.”
