S.C. man arrested after body is found floating in barrel on lake
07/07/2023 12:06 pm PDT
SPARTANBURG, S.C. (TCD) -- A 25-year-old man was arrested last weekend after investigators discovered a missing man’s body inside a barrel floating on a lake.
According to WSPA-TV, Cherokee County deputies and other law enforcement officials made the discovery Thursday, June 29, near a boat ramp at Lake Thicketty. Cherokee County Sheriff Steve Mueller told WSPA the barrel was partially underwater, and they found the human remains when they opened it.
The Cherokee County Coroner’s Office, however, determined the victim, 56-year-old Jeffrey Darin Sutphin, died in Spartanburg County, so the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office will now be leading the investigation.
WSPA reports detectives suspect foul play led to Sutphin’s death.
Cherokee County deputies arrested Eric Shawn Fetzer on June 29 on a charge of destruction, desecration, or removal of human remains. Records show he bonded out July 1.
The Spartanburg Herald-Journal reports the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a statement, "Investigators expect to make additional arrests regarding this incident in Cherokee County in the coming days in regard to the human remains being placed into Lake Thicketty."
Sutphin was reported missing June 4 after he was last seen driving on the Rutherfordton Highway in his 2006 gold Jeep Liberty.
Spartanburg County Coroner Dennis Fowler reportedly noted Sutphin’s body had "been in the container for a number of days."
According to the Spartanburg Herald-Journal, an autopsy has been completed, but Fowler’s office is still waiting on toxicology results, which could take several weeks.
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