A South Carolina man accused of murdering his girlfriend died Saturday while trying to bury her body, according to a report.
Sixty-year-old Joseph McKinnon allegedly strangled his girlfriend, 65-year-old Patricia Dent, Saturday, according to Fox News. The Edgefield County Sheriff’s office reportedly said that evidence appears to show McKinnon was burying Dent’s body when he suffered a heart attack.
EXC: Confirmed by Edgefield County Sheriff’s Office that this is Joseph McKinnon, who killed girlfriend Patricia Dent before dying of a heart attack as he hid her body. pic.twitter.com/AiCE7XKi1e
— Adam (@adamsolomons5) May 11, 2022
Dent’s twin sister became suspicious after Dent failed to show up for work. (RELATED: Infamous Trans Child Molester Charged With Murder)
“I’m shocked,” Pamela Briggs said, according to Fox Carolina. “I didn’t see any of that coming.”
Briggs said an employee at the Mount Vintage Golf Club asked her if she knew of her sister’s whereabouts when she failed to show for work, according to the report.
“She wanted to know if I knew where my sister was, and I said, ‘No, I have no idea,’ and then it just started to play out from there.”
Police were alerted to the bizarre scene after someone found McKinnon’s body laying on the grass just before 10 a.m., Saturday. The individual who found McKinnon tried chest compressions but was unsuccessful, according to Fox Carolina.
While putting dirt over Dent’s body, McKinnon is believed to have put the shovel down before attempting to walk away but died on the spot, according to the report.