In Richland County, what appeared to be an apartment fire is now a murder investigation. The blaze happened Tuesday afternoon at the Bethel Bishop Apartments. That's near West Beltline Boulevard. Authorities found a body in an apartment there and officials suspect foul play. Now a shocked community wants to know why someone may have tried to cover-up a murder in their neighborhood.
"It's just a terrible thing. I don't know what to say," said Columbia resident Alethia.
She has family living at Bethel Bishop Apartments. And on Tuesday she was at the complex checking on family members, while police investigated a dead body found inside a burned apartment. Alethia knows crime is becoming an unfortunate trend in the community.
"They were killed in broad daylight in front of everybody," said Alethia. "Its just a shame. Somebody has to stop this sooner or later."
Fire crews arrived at this apartment just after 1:00 p.m, and quickly realized they were dealing with more than just a fire.
"We did send somebody inside to check the scene out and that's when we discovered there was a body on the inside," said Deputy Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins.
Columbia police believe they are dealing with a murder investigation. They hope someone saw something Tuesday that may help investigators put together the pieces in this case.
"This is a partnership out here and we need their help," said Police Captain Thomas Dodson. "We want to bring the person or persons involved in this crime to justice very quickly and take them out of this community, if they are in fact in this community."
"At this point I just hope they find out what happened up in there," said Alethia.
Something that could help bring back some peace of mind to a shaken community. Columbia police and arson investigators are looking into how the fire started. Any information in this case call: 1-800-CRIME-SC.
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