Stabbing victim and dead body found inside burning home, South Carolina sheriff says
A South Carolina man was hospitalized Sunday after he was found with a stab wound inside his burning Midlands home, where a dead body was also discovered, according to the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office.
At about 2 p.m., deputies along with members of the Newberry County Fire Service responded to a call about a Green Acres Road home that was on fire, the sheriff’s office said in a news release. That’s in the Silverstreet area of Newberry County.
While emergency responders were on the way to the house another 911 call was made from the homeowner, who said that he had been stabbed and the person who attacked him also set his house on fire, according to the release.
The homeowner was taken by EMS to an area hospital with what the sheriff’s office called a non-life-threatening injury.
After firefighters from Silverstreet, Chappells, Friendly and Newberry Rescue Squad responded to the home and extinguished the blaze “a deceased victim” was found inside, the sheriff’s office said.
Ricardo Dentel Dewalt, a 31-year-old Silverstreet resident, was identifed as that victim by the Newberry County Coroner’s Office. The coroner is conducting an investigation into the cause of death and an autopsy has been scheduled for this week.
No other injuries were reported.
Investigators said the homeowner and another person got into an argument and the property owner was stabbed, according to the release. There was no word about what led to the argument.
After the stabbing, the accused attacker retreated into the home and a fire started, the sheriff’s office said.
Information about the cause of the fire was not available and there was no word on how long it took firefighters to put out the blaze.
The sheriff’s office did not say if the person who is accused of assaulting the homeowner was the individual who died at the scene.
Because a death occurred with a fire, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division Arson Team was called in to assist in the investigation that also includes the sheriff’s office, coroner’s office and Newberry County Fire Service.
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This story was originally published December 9, 2024 at 10:15 AM.
