KERSHAW COUNTY, SC (WIS) - The Kershaw County Sheriff believes what looked like a routine fatal car crash last month was actually a homicide after learning the burned body may have been shot in the head.
Sheriff Jim Matthews said the single-car accident happened around 2:00 a.m. April 16 on Black River Road near Camden. The car's driver and only occupant, 36-year-old James Corey Beaufort, was killed after his Ford Focus ran off the side of the road, hit several trees, flipped and landed on its roof before bursting into flames.
At first, investigators thought he lost control of the wheel. Kershaw County Coroner Johnny Fellers routinely conducts autopsies on all burn victims, and called Matthews several days after the accident to say Beaufort had possibly been shot in the head.
"We know that it came from the right side to the left side through his head, causing him to be killed," said Phillips.
Matthews said the pathologist who performed the autopsy believes Beaufort's head wound is consistent with a gunshot wound. Fellers is not totally convinced that the head wound is the result of a gunshot, but so far there is no other explanation for the wound.
Accordingly, Kershaw County deputies are now investigating Beaufort's death as a homicide until they can prove otherwise. "Obviously this came as a shock to Mr. and Mrs. Beaufort, but they are anxious to find out what really happened to Corey, their only son," said Matthews.
"They're trying to understand how their loved one died," said Lt. Christopher Phillips. "Why that person had to die."
Investigators say James was driving to Camden from Sumter County that night. They're hoping you can help fill in the blanks and piece together what really happened.
"If anybody had seen him on that night on the 16th of April prior to him having a traffic accident, we need to know," said Phillips. "We want to be able to help this family have some type of closure."
Fellers sent metal fragments taken from Beaufort to SLED for analysis, but so far the tests have been inconclusive.
Matthews asked anyone with information on the incident, whether it seems important or not, to contact Lt. Chris Phillips at the Kershaw County Sheriff's Office at 803-425-1512.
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James Corey Beaufort (Source: Kershaw County Sheriff's Department)
