South Carolina Man Dies While Burying Girlfriend He Allegedly Murdered

Joseph McKinnon of Trenton, South Carolina, was found dead in his backyard from a heart attack while digging a pit to bury his girlfriend in.

A neighbor found McKinnon, 60, Saturday morning after a neighbor saw him laying unconscious in his yard. When first responders arrived, they determined he’d had a heart attack and there was “no trauma to his body.”

Deputies then set out to find his next of kin, although Edgefield County Sheriff Jody Rowland admitted his deputies had a hard time finding his live-in girlfriend, Patricia Dent, 65. Authorities soon realized she was not at work and was not responding to her co-workers text messages.

Deputies continued to investigate and went to McKinnon and Dent’s home and noted how it was freshly cleaned. Investigators found traces of blood in the home which was identified as hers. Their attention quickly turned back to the pit McKinnon was digging.

When investigators began digging in the pit themselves, they found black garbage bags. When opened, the bags revealed a body bound with tape, which was determined to be Dent.

The responding officers said it appeared as if McKinnon was nearly done digging the grave when he sat the shovel down, walked away, and collapsed.

On Monday, Dent and McKinnon’s autopsies were performed and revealed Dent died of strangulation and McKinnon of a heart attack.