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A South Carolina man has been charged with murder after the body of the woman he was living with was found beneath a fire pit outside his home that he had “marked as territorial,” authorities said.
Sheridan Dirk Fogle, 54, was arrested Thursday and charged with the murder of Penny Whiteside, 51, whom local media identified as her girlfriend. Neighbors' accounts led authorities to believe she may have been buried in a yard outside the home, Myrtle Beach police said in a statement. Facebook statement.
“This is a tragic loss of life and a senseless violent crime,” the statement said. “We ask that you continue to pray for the victim's family and friends.”
According to police, a search warrant for the Myrtle Beach property was obtained June 12. Myrtle Beach police said the U.S. Marshals Service and the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety assisted in executing the warrant.
Fogle was arrested in Orangeburg, about 140 miles west of Myrtle Beach, after the Horry County coroner's office confirmed the body was Whiteside's. USA Today reported.
According to the arrest warrant, Fogle said he was burying something in the backyard and that “if people came near the fire pit he would mark the spot.” Quoted in WMBF News.
Investigators obtained a search warrant on June 12 and excavated the fire pit, where they reportedly found remains inside a wooden box.
Authorities say Whiteside had been missing since May 2022 and had been living with Fogle.
According to the warrant, Fogle and Whiteside had a “well-documented history of domestic violence,” according to WMBF News.
