CAMDEN, S.C.,None — A 23-year-old man has been charged in the death of a woman authorities say was abducted from a Chesterfield County store and beaten to death in a random attack.
Kershaw County Sheriff Jim Matthews said Beverly Hope Melton, 30, was abducted after leaving a convenience store Monday afternoon.
According to deputies, Melton called her grandmother and told her that she was being followed and was afraid. That was the last time anyone heard from Melton.
Matthews said Melton was assaulted and driven to Kershaw County, where she was beaten to death with a baseball bat.
Her body was found in a secluded area of Kershaw County after the man, 23-year-old Nickolas Jermaine Miller, led Chesterfield County deputies to her body.
Matthews said store surveillance video shows Miller harassing Melton in the store. Matthews said authorities used that video to identify a suspect and stopped him near Jefferson.
Matthews said Miller confessed and told authorities where to find the woman's body.
"This was a horribly brutal and senseless crime. One of the worst I have ever seen. To our knowledge Ms. Melton did not know her killer," said Sheriff Matthews. "Since the actual homicide took place in Kershaw County, the Kershaw County Sheriff's Office will take over the homicide investigation. I must give credit where it is due. Chesterfield authorities jumped on this case with a vengeance. They are the ones who solved this crime."
Chesterfield County Sheriff Sam Parker said he knew Melton personally and described her as a devout Christian who lived a peaceful life. He called her murder is one of the most senseless crimes he's investigated in his 37-year career.
Miller is being held Tuesday on a murder charge at the Kershaw County Detention Center. Chesterfield County authorities are expected to charge him with kidnapping and criminal sexual conduct.
Bond has not been set in the case because it is a capital case. Bond will be set by a circuit court judge at a later date.
WSOC
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