Sheriff Anthony Dennis says Willie Pressley, 72, was arrested after deputies responded to a call for service Tuesday on Radical Road. The officers found Joanne Smiley, 54, lying on the living room floor of the home. According to the police report, Pressley is accused of murder.
/ SCSO
SUMTER, SC (WACH, AP) - Deputies with the Sumter County Sheriff's Office arrested a man who is accused of beating a Sumter woman to death Tuesday.
Sheriff Anthony Dennis says Willie Pressley, 72, was arrested and charged with murder after deputies responded to a call for service Tuesday on Radical Road. The officers found Joanne Smiley, 54, lying on the living room floor of the home.
Authorities say Smiley and Pressley both lived in the home. A witness told responding officers that Pressley killed Smiley. EMS responded to the scene along with the Sumter County coroner, who confirmed Smiley had died.
According to Dennis, it initially appeared that Smiley died due to blunt force trauma throughout the body. Coroner Harvin Bullock says Smiley was beaten with a baseball bat.
Pressley was taken to the Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center.
The investigation is ongoing.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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