Sumter man, held in 2014 killing, now charged in burning deaths of elderly couple

A man already facing multiple charges in connection with several violent crimes in 2014, including a killing, is now charged in the deaths of an elderly couple at their Wedgefield home, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office said Sunday.

Jason Dustin Compton, 34, formerly of 4365 Bethel Church Road in Sumter, has been charged with two counts of murder, one count of arson first degree, and one count of burglary first degree, for the intentional fire that killed 87-year-old Edward Hall and his wife, 83-year-old Harriett Hall, in February 2013, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Both victims died from a combination of carbon monoxide poisoning and burns from the fire, which also destroyed a historic 170-year-old home in the 1000 block of Highway 261 South, Sumter officials said.

The latest charges against Compton come in addition to the litany of charges he faces in connection with a May 2014 incident that left 44-year-old Tracey Koepfler dead, a 14-year-old girl hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, and a wheelchair-bound 46-year-old woman injured.

Deputies arrested Compton at the scene of the 2014 incident in the 4300 block of Bethel Church Road. Responding to reports of an attack, once inside officers found a woman in the living room, severely bludgeoned about the head with the apparent assault weapon, a metal hammer, lying near her.

Investigations showed Compton also had demanded, after attacking the deceased victim, that a 14-year-old girl and a 46-year-old woman at the home undress in front of him. When they refused, he also attacked them. Compton also allegedly dragged the teenaged girl into the living room of the home and forced her to watch him continue to assault the deceased with the hammer. While this was occurring, the 46-year-old woman was apparently able to call law enforcement from a cellphone.

Compton – who law enforcement officials say confessed at the scene of the 2014 crimes – was charged with one count of murder, two counts of attempted murder, three counts of kidnapping, one count of criminal sexual conduct first degree and one count of criminal sexual conduct with a minor.

Compton has been held in the Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center since his 2014 arrest, after bond was denied. .