News from around The Carolinas

South Carolina

BEAUFORT

Sanfords: We aren’t liable

The brother of former Gov. Mark Sanford and his wife deny they are liable for the death of a 6-year-old boy found dead in a pool during a party they hosted.

The Island Packet of Hilton Head reports that John and Julia Sanford said in legal papers that they were never told the boy could not swim. The couple also denied that they were not properly supervising the children at the party in August.

The family of Camilo Andres Restrepo-Lopez filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Sanfords.

The coroner ruled Lopez’s death an accident and no charges were filed.

ORANGEBURG

Ex-state vice president to fight demotion

The former vice president for Academic Affairs at South Carolina State University says the school president violated her contract by demoting her.

Joyce Blackwell told The Times and Democrat of Orangeburg she is appealing the decision by President George Cooper to the university’s board of trustees.

Blackwell says her contract requires a 90-day notification before she can be moved to another position. She says the $50,000 pay cut ordered by Cooper also violates her contract.

Cooper wouldn’t talk about what happened to Blackwell with the newspaper, calling it a personnel matter.

Blackwell thinks university leaders were angry she started the process to eliminate eight academic programs at the school.

Blackwell came to the university in 2009 with tenure.

CHARLESTON

Man charged with felony DUI in wreck

A 32-year-old man has been charged with felony driving under the influence after police say he caused a deadly wreck that killed another driver on the Ravenel Bridge in Charleston.

Investigators said Adam Burnell ran into the back of the other car about 4 a.m. Saturday, spinning the vehicle around and sending it into a concrete wall.

Authorities say 32-year-old Quentin Miller’s car caught fire and he couldn’t be rescued.

Burnell’s bond was set at $50,000. It wasn’t clear if he had an attorney.

UNION

Caretaker charged in infant death

Union County deputies say a man has been charged with homicide by child abuse after the 9-month-old girl he was babysitting died from injuries suffered in his care.

Investigators said the girl was taken to the hospital last week with bruises on her face and died Friday from a fractured skull.

Authorities say 24-year-old Lashawn Brannon told the baby’s mother she fell out of her bed, but deputies think she was intentionally abused.

Investigators say Brannon has a prior conviction on a child neglect charge.

Brannon is being held in the Union County jail awaiting a bond hearing. It wasn’t clear if he had an attorney.

COLUMBIA

K-9 officer honored day after dog killed

A K-9 officer with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department has been named Deputy of the Year just one day after his police dog was shot and killed as they hunted for a robbery suspect.

Officials said the panel that chooses the winning officer made its decision two weeks ago to honor Master Deputy Warren Cavanagh.

Sheriff Leon Lott said Cavanagh got a standing ovation from his fellow officers. He said “God works in mysterious ways” as he announced the winner of the award Saturday.

Cavanagh’s police dog Fargo was shot three times and killed as he tried to help capture a robbery suspect early Friday morning.

Cavanagh has been a Richland County deputy for five years and worked with police dogs since 2004.

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North Carolina

WILMINGTON

Woman charged with killing at camp

Authorities say a 38-year-old woman faces a second-degree murder charge after a man was found dead at a camp for homeless people in Wilmington.

Investigators said they were called to the camp around 7 p.m. Friday after paramedics found 43-year-old Richard Partello III dead.

Police say witnesses told officers that Johanna Leitch was fighting with Partello before he was killed.

Investigators aren’t releasing a reason the two were fighting or a cause of death for Partello, although paramedics said he suffered multiple external wounds.

Leitch is being held at the New Hanover County jail without bond. It wasn’t clear if she had an attorney.

CHARLOTTE

Woman slain, suspect kills self

Investigators say they found a body inside a burning home in Charlotte, and they think the suspect in the killing committed suicide in a shed nearby.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said they got a call about a fire and a possible break-in at a home in northeast Charlotte early Sunday morning. Authorities say the body of 32-year-old Stephanie Ott was found in the burning garage, and homicide detectives were called.

As police searched the neighborhood, they found 52-year-old Robert Stover inside a shed at a nearby home. Authorities say Stover shot and killed himself after officers confronted him.

Investigators say Ott and Stover were roommates.

From wire reports