Update: Man charged with murder in connection to decomposing body found in Little River closet

The identity of a 29-year-old woman, whose decomposing body was found in the closet of a Little River home, was released by an Horry County deputy coroner Wednesday morning.

Leon Edward Collier, 45, of Little River, is charged with murder and two counts of unlawful neglect of a child by legal custodian, according to Lt. Raul Denis with Horry County police.

Collier is being held at J. Reuben Detention Center.

The body of Christian Hope Phipps of Little River was found Tuesday morning, and the cause of death is still under investigation, although the case has been ruled a homicide, according to Darris Fowler, Horry County deputy coroner.

Horry County police officers responded to a third-person call of a suicidal man at 4250 Pinehurst Circle around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. The caller reported that the man at the residence was threatening to harm himself and making comments that he had done something wrong, according to a release from the Horry County Police Department Tuesday.

The responding officers found the man hiding in the home and then found the decomposing body of a 29-year-old woman in a closet, according to the release. Detectives and crime scene investigators deemed the case a homicide and suspected the man found inside the residence was responsible.

Fowler said Tuesday night that he is awaiting preliminary autopsy findings to determine the cause of death.

Fowler said the victim had died several days before she was found by the Horry County police. The death is still under investigation.

This story was originally published December 1, 2015 at 7:17 PM with the headline "Update: Man charged with murder in connection to decomposing body found in Little River closet."