Woman found after Richland County house fire had been beaten, strangled and shot

The woman whose body was found after a Tuesday fire at a Richland County home had been beaten, strangled and shot before the fire was set, according to officials.

The body of Amanda Peele, 39, was found in the debris after firefighters extinguished a blaze Tuesday morning at a home on the 100 block of Crestmore Drive, officials have said. An autopsy revealed Peele had been beaten, strangled and shot before the house was set on fire, according to Richland County Coroner Gary Watts.

It was unclear what, specifically, caused Peele’s death, but Watts said all three were factors, and that Peele was dead before the fire was set. He declined to say how many times she had been shot.

Kenneth Gleaton, 38, was charged with murder Tuesday afternoon. Sheriff’s investigators have said Gleaton and Peele were acquaintances.

“We see it, typically, more when there’s a personal relationship between the victim and the perpetrator,” Watts said of the violent nature of Peele’s death. “Typically, when you see this kind of rage, it’s people that have some type of known relationship.”

Gleaton’s criminal record includes several convictions, among them second-degree arson and criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature, according to the State Law Enforcement Division.

Under South Carolina law, a murder conviction carries up to life in prison or the possibility of the death penalty.

This story was originally published October 11, 2017 at 2:09 PM with the headline "Woman found after Richland County house fire had been beaten, strangled and shot."