Horry County police investigate 2 homicides from weekend, coroner says
Horry County police are investigating two homicides from the weekend, according to the coroner’s office.
“We had a busy weekend,” began an email from Horry County Deputy Coroner Michelle McSpadden announcing the identities of the victims of two homicides and two car crash victims.
Amy Kopacz, 55, died Saturday in her Little River home due to injuries she sustained in an assault, McSpadden wrote. The Horry County Police Department is investigating Kopacz’s death as a homicide, she said.
Patrick Smith, 49, died at a local hospital of a gunshot wound, McSpadden wrote. Smith is believed to have been shot late Friday night or early Saturday morning in the Shore Drive section of Horry County, near the Grande Dunes community just north of Myrtle Beach. Horry County police are investigating the case as a homicide, McSpadden said.
McSpadden noted that the information on Smith’s case is preliminary and may change as the investigation continues.
This story was originally published November 1, 2021 at 10:46 AM.
