S.C. man who killed missing girlfriend and zip-tied her body in tarp is sentenced

LAURENS COUNTY, S.C. (TCN) -- A 50-year-old man will spend over three decades behind bars for fatally shooting his girlfriend and leaving her body in a shallow grave.

In a Dec. 17 news release, Eighth Circuit Solicitor David Stumbo announced that William Cagle pleaded guilty to one charge of murder in connection with 49-year-old Terry Chermak’s death. A judge subsequently sentenced Cagle to 35 years in prison without the possibility of parole.

According to prosecutors, Chermak’s friends and family reported the victim missing in September 2022. She was last seen leaving work on Sept. 9, 2022. Chermak had reportedly been texting her sister, telling her she "no longer wished to marry Cagle." Text messages received by Chermak’s friends and family allegedly changed "as if someone else were texting from her phone."

Upon further investigation, Laurens County Sheriff’s Office officials learned Cagle had bought a blue tarp, zip ties, and a shovel from a hardware store. According to the solicitor’s office, authorities searched Chermak’s property and found her body in a shallow grave wrapped in a blue tarp that had been zip-tied.

Prosecutors said Cagle placed a bag over his girlfriend’s head and shot her once in the back of the head before stealing the victim’s car, cellphone, and debit cards. Officials recovered a revolver in the victim’s house, as well as Chermak’s abandoned vehicle at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport. U.S. Marshals took Cagle into custody in Denver, Colorado.

Stumbo said, "Murders as a result of domestic violence unfortunately continue to plague our state, but as long as that is the case, we will continue to seek justice for these victims and their surviving families."

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