Upstate man charged in death of pregnant woman whose naked, burned body was found on trail

A Duncan man has been charged in the death of a pregnant woman whose naked, burned body was found in August along a trail.

Wilford Lee Jr., 52, of 107 Smith St., Duncan, was being held Wednesday at the Spartanburg County jail on assault and battery charges when police served the warrant charging him in the murder of Christina Michelle Humphries, according to a statement from Police Capt. Regina Nowak.

Humphries, 28, of Spruce Street, was discovered Aug. 16 in a wooded area near the 700 block of South Center Street. A man walking a trail along Michael Street toward South Center Street said “he found an unknown person laying in the trail,” according to the incident report.

Police found Humphries in the wooded area lying face down, naked from the waist down and patches of her skin missing from her legs, according to the report. Her shoulders and head appeared to be burned as well, the report states.

The cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma and then burning by kerosene, according to Lee’s arrest warrant.

After an autopsy, Spartanburg County Coroner Rusty Clevenger determined Humphries was 16 to 18 weeks pregnant when she was killed.

About a month before Humphries was killed, she filed a police report accusing Lee of assaulting her and throwing her from a car.

On July 19, Humphries told police her roommate – Lee – had picked her up from the emergency room and the two were heading home when they got into an altercation, according to the incident report.

During the altercation, Humphries told police Lee “put his hands around her neck” and then opened her car door and pushed her out of the vehicle, the report states.

Lee was charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature and taken into custody on Aug. 17. He has remained in custody since that time.

This story was originally published September 3, 2015 at 12:25 PM.