Suspect named in SC cold case 22 years after woman shot and killed

Greenville County cold case investigators say they believe they have solved a murder from 22 years ago.

Sharon Anschutz, 54, was shot and killed June 5, 2000 during a robbery while working at the John Butler Dry Cleaners in Greenville.

No arrests were made after the initial investigation, Sheriff’s Office Lt. Ryan Flood said in a news release Thursday.

The case was looked at again in mid-2022.

Investigators believe Anschutz was killed by Roger Keith Hudgens, then 44 years old. He died in 2000.

Flood described him as “a local man who did various jobs around the dry cleaners, including occasionally taking out the trash.”

Flood said witnesses told investigators Hudgens intended to rob the business that day. He also said forensic evidence tied him to Anshutz’s murder.

A Greenville News article from shortly after the murder said family members were told Anschutz was killed for $200. She had been shot in the back and found by a customer behind the counter.

Anschutz was originally from Michigan.

Sheriff Hobart Lewis, who revamped the cold case unit in 2020, was quoted in the news release as saying, “While no investigation will bring loved ones back, I hope that Ms. Sharon Anschutz’s family can find peace in knowing that her killer was identified and no longer in a position to harm others.”

The Cold Case Unit has identified suspects in nine homicide cases.