Myrtle Beach area homicide detectives investigate 18 deaths in 2011

Police in Horry and Georgetown counties were busy in 2011 with 17 homicide investigations in their respective areas.

Officers made arrests and closed 15 cases, but two remain open and under investigation by detectives. The number of homicides is average for the area, according to authorities.

“We go up and down,” Myrtle Beach police Capt. David Knipes said. “We had four in the city and all of ours are solved.”

The average in the city is 3.35 per year, Knipes said.

Historical numbers from the Horry County Police Department and Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office were not available this week.

Here is a list of the area’s homicides and a brief description:

Jan. 9

Horry County

Joseph D. Williamson, 30, of Columbus County, N.C., was found fatally shot about 8:30 a.m. Jan. 9 along Norton Road in the Green Sea community. A farmer driving on Norton Road found Williamson’s body. Horry County police continue to investigate Williamson’s death.

March 1

Horry County

Kevin Bowens, 35, of Murrells Inlet, died after being shot inside his home at 9601 Drayton Court in the Kings Grant subdivision, and six people have been charged in connection with his death.

Kareem Shamel Harry, 26, surrendered to detectives March 3 and Saire Jerrel Castro, 22, of Myrtle Beach, was arrested on April 12 in Florida after he escaped arrest the night of the shooting according to authorities. Both men are charged with murder in Bowen’s death in addition to Thomas Gifford Byrne, 19, of Myrtle Beach and Ashley Janine Bledsoe, 18, of Garden City Beach.

Amanda Lee Byrne, 22, of Myrtle Beach, and Sage Lee McPhail, 20, of Loris, are charged with accessory after the fact of murder.

March 15

Georgetown County

Deon Myers, 26, of Georgetown, was found March 15 on the floor of the Ghost Den nightclub in the Plantersville community with a gunshot wound to his face. He died three days later at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.

Witnesses told investigators that three men came into the club wearing masks and took Myers outside, according to authorities. They said they’d heard a single gunshot, and then saw the suspects leave in a burgundy Mercury Sable.

Tamar Yaron Bryant, 17; Kawaun Montique Myers, 24; Brandon Tahj Cheek, 19, Lavern Holmes, 31, all of Georgetown; and Camron Lamar Green, 21, of Conway, were each charged with murder in Deon Myers’ death.

March 21

Horry County

Cheryl Gillespie, 53, of Garden City Beach, died after she was shot inside her home during a struggle with her ex-husband Gary Gillespie, who police said was using a 9mm handgun to assault another family member. The gun went off, killing Cheryl Gillespie.

Gary Gillespie, 60, was charged with murder in Cheryl Gillespie’s death.

April 10

Horry County

Kendall Williams, 22, of Mullins, died after he was repeatedly punched and kicked during a fight at a home on Chanticleer Village Drive in Conway.

Christopher Leron Cooper, 21, was indicted by a grand jury in August on a charge of murder.

When officers arrived about 4:15 a.m. April 10, they found Williams in the house and he was unconscious and not breathing, according to authorities. Williams died about an hour later while being treated at Conway Medical Center.

Police said the men were attending a party at the home where the attack occurred. After an investigation, detectives determined Cooper attacked Williams, who fell during the assault. Witnesses told police that Williams was asleep on a couch in the home’s living room when Cooper assaulted him. Police have not released details about why the altercation began.

June 2

Horry County

Gene “Claudy” Strickland, 65, of Myrtle Beach, was found dead inside his burning home and an autopsy showed no evidence of smoke in his lungs and indicated he died from blunt force trauma. Horry County police charged Michael Clayton Gensel, 28, and Christopher Thomas Cervoni, 29, with murder, first-degree burglary, strong-armed robbery and second-degree arson, while Michael Keith Cervoni, 39, was charged with accessory after the fact to murder.

Strickland’s body was found June 2 in a burning single-wide mobile home on 800 Burcale Road, and police said he was robbed before his death.

July 17

Horry County

Cheryl Louise Pascarelli, 57, was found dead in her Loris area home by police, who responded after a 911 hang-up call at 3461 Shell Pond Lane. Pascarelli’s son, Frankie S. Pacarelli, 28, of Shell Pond Lane in Loris, is charged with murder and attempted murder in the incident.

Cheryl Pascarelli suffered multiple stab wounds and blunt force trauma to her head, according to grand jury indictments. A man went to Loris Police to report that a family member had assaulted him with a knife at the home. It is unclear how that victim is related to the suspect.

Officers interviewed the victim who told them that Frankie Pascarelli attacked him with a knife for an unknown reason and that Cheryl Pascarelli was in the home and had not been heard from, police said at that time.

Police bloodhound teams arrested Frankie Pacarelli after pursuing him along the Waccamaw River near Red Bluff boat landing.

August 20

Horry County

Michael Dalton Fitch, 17, of Shelby, N.C., died after he was stabbed in the chest while at Ocean Lakes Campground at 6001 S. Kings Highway.

Adam Taylor Dwiggins, 18, was charged with murder and his mother, Kathy Ledford Dwiggins, 51, both of Shelby, N.C., was charged with accessory after the fact in Fitch’s death. The Dwiggins were arrested Aug. 20 after police said Fitch saw Dwiggins hit a 12-year-old girl and Dwiggins tried to leave the area, so Fitch confronted him to stop Dwiggins until police arrived to address the incident.

The charge against Kathy Dwiggins stemmed from her attempt to “sterilize and clean the knife,” prosecutors said

A witness, who knows both teens, told police that Dwiggins threw a beer on a girl while they were passing each other on separate golf cars in the campground. The two stopped their golf carts, and Dwiggins, who was alone, hit the girl after she yelled at him.

Sept. 7

Myrtle Beach

Keesha Godley, 40, of Myrtle Beach, died after the mo-ped she was riding on was struck about 6 p.m. Sept. 7 in the area of Jackson and Oak streets near downtown Myrtle Beach.

Barbara Wright, 63, was charged with murder and attempted murder after police said she intentionally struck a mo-ped driven by her ex-boyfriend in which Godley was a passenger. Wright left the scene of the wreck, but police arrested her about an hour later.

Sept. 23

Myrtle Beach

Benjamin Allen Singleton, 40, of Myrtle Beach died after he was struck with a hammer in an apartment at Carver Apartments located at 1300 Spivey Ave., in Myrtle Beach.

Brandon Lavon Burgess, 25, of Myrtle Beach, was charged with murder when police took him into custody at the apartment after a woman reported the incident.

According to a police report, a woman called 911 dispatchers and reported “her boyfriend possibly killed a person.” Officers found an injured Singleton inside the apartment. The woman told police dispatchers a hammer was used in the assault, according to an incident report.

Oct. 9

Horry County

George T. Beuford, 24, of Little River, died after he was found by police about 3:30 a.m. Oct. 9 laying on his back in an apartment complex parking lot at 100 Christy Way. Witnesses told police that a vehicle drove into the parking lot while they were all standing outside with Beuford and a man got out of the vehicle and approached Beuford and said something to him before pulling out of gun and shooting Beuford, according to the police report. The shooter then walked back to the car drove away.

Police continue to investigate Beuford’s death.

Oct. 30

Conway

Victoria M. Campbell, 34, of Conway, died about three hours after being shot about 6 p.m. Oct. 30 at a home on Boundary Street in Conway, police said. Damian Sanders and Roderick Williams, both 18 and of Conway, were charged in connection with Campbell’s death. Sanders was charged with murder, possession of a firearm by certain persons unlawful, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime, Conway police said. Williams has been charged with accessory after the fact of murder.

Nov. 4

Myrtle Beach

Joe James, 43, of Conway, died after he was shot at least once in the chest inside an apartment complex located off 65th Avenue North in Myrtle Beach.

Kelly Jerome McNeil, 42, was charged with murder in James’ death.

Police said they were called at 1:15 a.m. Nov. 4 to 6314 Wedgewood St., and officers found James on the ground next to a vehicle in the parking lot. He was taken by EMS to the hospital where he died.

McNeil was arrested in his home at Alta Surf, which is located near River Oaks and International Drive.

Nov. 8

Horry County

Shaquielle Pertelle, 19, died Nov. 8 from a gunshot wound around 3 a.m. at a home off Highway 548 outside of Conway, police said.

Keir Lamont Johnson, 21, of Myrtle Beach, was charged with murder in Pertelle’s death.

When police arrived at the shooting scene they discovered that someone forced open the front door and fired several gunshots, which resulted in Pertelle’s death.

Nov. 21

Horry County

Marsella Lippert, 39, died from multiple trauma that caused hemorrhaging after police were called to a home in Carolina Forest neighborhood of Covington Lakes at 515 Quincy Hall Drive for a domestic dispute.

Lippert’s husband, James Edward Lippert, 48, told officers that he got into an argument with his wife before beating her and fatally stabbing her. James Lippert later told officers that his wife ‘went off on him” and then he stabbed her, but police did not say what caused the argument that led to her death.

The couple’s two children – ages 5 and 8 – were home at the time of the attack, and told police they were in the bathroom at the time of the incident and heard screaming and a dog barking, but did not see the killing.

Dec. 18

Myrtle Beach

Michael Brown, 29, of Myrtle Beach, was found unconscious and facedown about 3:30 p.m. Dec 18 in a yard along Spivey Street near Futrell Park.

Trevoir Lance, 17, of Myrtle Beach and two juveniles were arrested in connection with Brown’s death. Lance was charged with accessory after the fact of homicide while the two juveniles were charged with murder and attempted armed robbery.

A person in the neighborhood flagged down a passing police officer and reported finding an unconscious man, police said. The officer tried to wake Brown, but couldn’t and called for EMS, who took him to an area hospital where he later died. There was no blood around Brown when the officer found him.

Horry County Deputy Coroner Tamara Willard said an autopsy showed Brown died from a gunshot wound. A motive in the shooting has not been released by authorities, but the juveniles are charged with robbing Brown.

The charges against Lance stemmed from when he “assisted in disposing of the gun used in the murder,” according to the arrest affidavit.

Dec. 26

Horry County

Marlin Coward, 34, and Branden Alston, 28, died after exchanging gunfire about 8 p.m. Dec. 26 in Coward’s home in the 3300 block of S.C. 9 near Little River. Coward was taken to Grand Strand Regional Medical Center where he later died.

About 15 minutes later, police responded to a vehicle fire in the southbound lane of S.C. 31 between Robert M. Grissom Parkway and Water Tower Road. Officers found a Ford Bronco on fire with a wounded Alston inside. He, too, later died at Grand Strand Regional Medical Center.

A third person was found wounded at the scene of the vehicle fire, but was not seriously hurt. Police said it appeared Coward fired a gun in his home at Alston and the men traded shots before Alston left the home suffering from gunshot wounds.