A 60-year-old South Carolina man accused of strangling his girlfriend to death died of a heart attack while burying the deceased in their backyard in a twist of what some might call poetic justice, authorities said.
Joseph McKinnon murdered her 65-year-old girlfriend Patricia Dent inside a Trenton home on Saturday, the Edgefield County Sheriff’s Office said. Responding officers arrived at the residence after a neighbor called 911 to report “an unresponsive male lying in his yard,” Sheriff Jody Rowland said in a news release.
Deputies found McKinnon unresponsive. Medical crews soon arrived at the scene and tried to revive McKinnon, Fox Carolina reported.
Deputies found McKinnon unresponsive upon arrival. Medical crews soon arrived at the scene and tried to revive McKinnon, Fox Carolina reported.
He had a “cardiac event” while covering the pit, Investigators said. They believe McKinnon attacked Dent in the home. An autopsy determined the victim died by strangulation.
“Mr. McKinnon then bound her and wrapped her in trash bags before putting her in the previously dug pit,” according to the sheriff.
Dent was supposed to be at work at the Mount Vintage golf course the day she was murdered but didn’t show up, the news outlet reported. She also didn’t answer calls or respond to text messages.
