Woman shot and killed before man turned gun on himself, South Carolina coroner says
Two bodies were found inside of a South Carolina home Thursday morning, according to the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office.
The deaths were called a murder-suicide by the Aiken County Coroner’s Office.
At about 10 a.m., deputies responded to a report of a shooting at a Walnut Court home in North Augusta, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
At the home, deputies went inside and discovered two people had been killed “from what appeared to be at least one gunshot wound,” the sheriff’s office said.
The homeowner, 71-year-old Keith Jones, was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Coroner Darryl Ables said. Jones’ girlfriend, 67-year-old Kathy Hydrick, was found in the kitchen with a gunshot wound to the body, according to Ables.
Both Jones and Hydrick were pronounced dead at 12:05 p.m., Ables said.
No other injuries were reported.
Information about a possible motive for the shooting was not available.
An autopsy was scheduled for Hydrick in Newberry, but no autopsy is scheduled for Jones, according to Ables.
The shooting continues to be investigated by the sheriff’s office and the coroner’s office. The North Augusta Department of Public Safety has assisted in the investigation.
The sheriff’s office said “there are no indications of any danger to the community due to this incident.”
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This story was originally published March 27, 2025 at 1:27 PM.
