A 55-year-old Little River man wanted for questioning about the assault of his wife with a hammer was found dead in the ocean in North Myrtle Beach hours after the attack, according to authorities.
Dean Curtis Way, 55, of Little River was found dead in the surf about 7 a.m. Thursday, Horry County Coroner Robert Edge said. There were no visual signs of trauma and an autopsy will be done Friday morning at Grand Strand Regional Medical Center to determine Way’s cause of death.
North Myrtle Beach police are investigating his death, said Pat Dowling, North Myrtle Beach spokesman.
Horry County police had searched for Way hours earlier after his 57-year-old wife called officers to report she had been assaulted by him, according to a police report. The woman told police she gave Way his Christmas present on Wednesday night at their home on Channing Drive and that “he kept telling how much he liked it.”
The woman then told her husband that she wanted a puppy for Christmas and that is when Way “snapped,” according to the report. The woman told police that her husband threw her down on a concrete floor and hit her in the head with a rubber hammer.
The woman told officers that Way threatened to kill her and himself before he left their home with a loaded 45-caliber handgun and a bottle of Vodka.
Officers observed swelling and bruising of the woman’s right hand, face and head, according to the report. The woman also needed three staples to close a laceration on her elbow.
Officers found Way’s vehicle in the Cherry Grove section and planned to present the case to a magistrate for an arrest warrant.
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