Goose Creek, South Carolina: Two Bodies Found In Shallow Backyard Grave [Updated]


Two unidentified bodies were exhumed on Sunday morning in Goose Creek, South Carolina. The human remains were found in a shallow grave in a residential backyard, reports WCIV. The backyard in question is that of a Pandora Drive home, and at this time authorities are being very tight lipped about the Goose Creek discovery.

According to the local coroner, Bill Salisbury, the pair of bodies were found in one single, shallow grave. As previously mentioned, the identities of the deceased have not been released, and it is unknown at this time if South Carolina law enforcement has identified the victims and/or whether or not authorities have any clues as to who they could be.

South Carolina Bodies
[Photo by @AlexisLive5/Twitter]
Reports indicate that the bodies have been sent to Medical University Hospital, a local medical center, for autopsy and potential identification. The autopsy is slated to take place on Monday, March 7, according to reports.

One local indicated on social media that the scene of the recovery in Goose Creek seemed uneventful when they happened by.

Goose Creek, South Carolina authorities have been equally tight lipped regarding what prompted the investigation at the home, other than to say that they were investigating a possible death at the location. There is no word on what led law enforcement officials to look into the location where the bodies were found, let alone what may have caused officials to dig up the backyard.

South Carolina Crime Scene
[Photo by @mboughtonPC/Twitter]
Goose Creek, South Carolina police have yet to respond to media queries for additional information on this breaking news, more updates to follow as they become available.

***Update***

ABC 4 News reports that the bodies found buried in a Goose Creek, South Carolina back yard have resulted in a murder charge. James E. Loftis, resident of the home where the bodies were discovered, was arrested on Sunday in connection with the discovery. The Goose Creek man was charged with two counts of murder.

The police were reportedly contacted by the wife of the accused on March 5; she told them that her husband was having suicidal thoughts. According to an affidavit, she went on to say that she had received a call from James E. Loftis, during the conversation (which took place while she was in Columbia), Loftis told his was that he had “killed ‘them’ and put them in the backyard.”

When Mrs. Loftis returned home, she reportedly found her husband passed out drunk and being cared for by a friend.

Loftis South Carolina
[Photo by @AlexisLive5/Twitter]
Later, when the police arrived at the home in response to her call, she showed the officers a bullet hole in one of the interior walls. At this time, Mr. Loftis was still sleeping off his intoxication, according to reports.

When the friend who had been caring for Mr. Loftis spoke to police, he told officers that his friend had used a taxi service to get home from a local strip club. Upon being dropped off, he apparently did not pay his cab fare. The driver and another man banged on the door to his home, pushed their way inside and demanded payment. It was at that point that James E. Loftis shot the pair and buried them in his Goose Creek, South Carolina backyard.

When Goose Creek police officers investigated the scene, the found a small, shallow grave in the backyard as well as “blood throughout the grout of the tile floor leading from the front room to the kitchen.”

Ultimately, Mr. Loftis was detained and read his Miranda rights, at which points he confirmed his friends rendition of the events surrounding the Goose Creek, South Carolina double murder to law enforcement. According to the police report, the suspect told the two men that he’d get their money after they strong-armed their way into his home. Instead, he retrieved his.45 caliber semi-automatic and shot at the two men a total of eight times.

The suspect then reportedly moved the taxi to Old Black River Road in Goose Creek, cleaned his home with bleach, and put the evidence of the crime (including his clothes, towels and the bodies of the men) into the shallow grave he’d dug in the backyard of his home. He then attempted to dispose of all of the evidence by lighting the contents of the grave in his Goose Creek, South Carolina backyard on fire.

[Image via @AlexisLive5/Twitter]

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