After he was found in Texas, suspect charged with murder of Columbia man, SC cops say
A South Carolina man who was wanted for questioning in the death of a Columbia man was charged with murder Thursday after he was found in Texas, the Sumter Police Department said.
Because Matthew Tyrell Simmons was “the last person seen with Raphel Heywood Bostic” before the 29-year-old Columbia resident was shot to death in February, he was sought by police, according to a news release.
Police said Bostic was Simmons’ “friend,” in the news release.
Railway workers discovered Bostic’s body “down an embankment from railroad tracks” in Sumter on Feb. 16, police said in the release.
Police said Simmons was apprehended in Dallas by U.S. marshals and has been charged with murder.
The 27-year-old Sumter man was also wanted by police “on assault charges stemming from an unrelated incident in Sumter,” according to the news release.
Simmons is expected to be extradited to Sumter, where he will be held on both charges, police said.
The search for Simmons took investigators through several states before they found him in Dallas, according to the news release.
Police said the investigation is ongoing.
This story was originally published May 30, 2019 at 4:59 PM.
