Man killed girlfriend at SC motel after argument, deputies say

Deputies charged a convicted felon with shooting and killing his longtime girlfriend at a motel in Camden early Sunday morning.

Therine Bernardie McKeever, 48, was charged with murder, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and unlawful carrying of a firearm, according to a news release from the Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office.

Officers responded to a report of shots fired at the Parkview Motel in Camden at about 4:30 a.m. Upon arriving, two deputies came across McKeever leaving the area of room 129 on foot.

Deputies spotted what turned out to be a .357 magnum revolver in the suspect’s pants. When asked why he was carrying the handgun, McKeever told deputies he had fired the gun in his room and thought he might have shot his girlfriend, officials said.

When deputies went into the room, they found the body of Presis Prescott lying face up on the bed with a gunshot wound to her face, according to the sheriff’s office. Prescott was 31 years old.

Officials said that deputies called investigators to the scene, and that McKeever eventually admitted to shooting Prescott – his common law wife, according to the news release – after an argument that had been ongoing for more than a year.

The sheriff’s office called in the State Law Enforcement Division to help investigate.

Investigators believe the gun used in the shooting had been stolen, officials said.

McKeever has a criminal record dating to 1984, according to the sheriff’s office, with arrests for housebreaking, grand larceny, multiple counts of assault and battery, multiple counts of criminal domestic violence, assault and battery with intent to kill, pedestrian under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature.

He was taken to the Kershaw County Detention Center.

This story was originally published May 29, 2016 at 12:31 PM with the headline "Man killed girlfriend at SC motel after argument, deputies say."