A South Carolina man was taken into custody by police after discovering human remains stuffed in a barrel found floating in a lake in the state’s upstate region. According to FOX Carolina, Eric Shawn Fetzer, 25, was arrested on suspicion of destroying, desecrating, or removing human remains.
The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, and the emergency management offices of Spartanburg County and Cherokee County began an investigation Thursday at Lake Thicketty in Gaffney. The deputies pried it open upon retrieving the partially submerged barrel from the lake. They found the remains of Jeffrey Sutphin, 56, who was reported missing on June 15.
Sheriff Steve Mueller stated that authorities uncovered the barrel near the shore, and upon opening it, they found human remains. The Coroner, Dennis Fowler of Cherokee County, also confirmed the finding. According to him, it appeared that the body had been contained in the barrel for some days. Sheriff Mueller also added that the investigators were still working on the case by following some leads and collecting information.
It was determined that the man had died in Spartanburg County. As a result, the case was shifted to the Spartanburg County Coroner’s Office and the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office.