Body with burns was found, now SC woman is charged with murder, sheriff says
A week after a man’s burned body was discovered in an apartment, a woman was arrested on a murder charge, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.
Starshemah Jones, 48, was arrested in South Carolina’s Upstate region Tuesday, the sheriff’s department said in a news release.
In addition to murder, Jones was charged with two counts of kidnapping, and single counts of first-degree burglary, armed robbery, second-degree arson, destruction or desecration of human remains, possession of a weapon during a violent crime and strong arm robbery, according to the release.
The charges are connected to a June 4 death, the sheriff’s department said.
At about 5:30 p.m. on June 4, deputies responded to an apartment complex in the 2100 block of Faraway Drive in reference to a suspicious death, according to the release. Both EMS and the Columbia Fire Department were at the apartment when deputies found an adult victim with burn injuries who had died, the sheriff’s department said.
Grant Ellison, a 78-year-old Columbia resident, was identified as the victim, the Richland County Coroner’s Office said Wednesday night.
The sheriff’s department said it began investigating Ellison’s death as a murder.
During the investigation, deputies learned that just after midnight on June 4, Jones approached the victim, who was an acquaintance, at his apartment, according to the release. Jones had a knife and robbed Ellison of cash and his personal belongings, the sheriff’s department said.
Jones returned to the apartment later that day, reportedly to smooth things over with Ellison, but there was an altercation and Jones attacked and killed Ellison, according to the sheriff’s department.
Ellison’s cause of death has not been released by the coroner’s office.
On Tuesday, members of the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office and South Carolina Law Enforcement Division assisted the sheriff’s department’s Fugitive Task Force as they arrested Jones in Spartanburg, according to the release. Jones is listed as a Spartanburg resident, court records show.
The sheriff’s department said Jones will be booked at Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, but she’s not currently listed on the Richland County jail’s inmate roster.
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This story was originally published June 11, 2025 at 1:25 PM.
