SC man accused of killing mom and fleeing to Florida will face murder charge, deputy says
A man accused of killing his mother and fleeing to Florida is expected to be brought back to Horry County next week, officials said.
Colby Kopacz, 29, is accused of killing his mother, Amy Kopacz, 55, according to Horry County police.
He was arrested in Pensacola, Florida and booked into Escambia County Jail just after midnight Oct. 31. He is being held there without bond, according to the jail’s website.
Colby Kopacz will be brought to South Carolina around Nov. 15, said Chief Deputy Tom Fox with the Horry County Sheriff’s Office, the agency overseeing the extradition.
Once returned to Horry County, Colby Kopacz will be formally charged with murder, Fox said.
Colby Kopacz is waiving his right to an extradition hearing, which means he will not formally fight his extradition.
The Horry County Sheriff’s Office is contracted with a third-party prisoner transport company that will be tasked with transporting Kopacz from Florida to South Carolina, Fox said. The sheriff’s office will use the services of a prisoner transport company because it is cheaper than sending a pair of deputies to Florida to carry out the arrest, Fox said.
Fox would not disclose the name of the company out of fear that prisoners may research the companies and try to avoid extradition, he said.
Amy Kopacz was found dead in her Little River home Oct. 30, where she lived with her son, according to a family member.
The Horry County Coroner’s Office said she died from injuries sustained in an assault, though an official cause of death will not be determined until an autopsy is completed.
Holly Kopacz — Colby Kopacz’s sister — told The Sun News that her brother was living with his mother when he allegedly killed her.
