Epps Murder Update… 2nd article in two days!
Nearing a record, The Greenville News printed their 2nd article in two days that talks about the Epps murder. How about that? Here it is:
Sheriff Steve Loftis said Sunday that about six full-time investigators continue to chase leads in Devon Epps’ killing, nearly a month after his mother told deputies that a man put a pillow over the 7-year-old child’s face.
With the one-month anniversary looming, no arrests have been made and investigators know of a single eyewitness: the boy’s mother, Amanda Reagan Smith, Loftis said.
“We’re still following up on tips and leads,” Loftis said. “We’re following those wherever the investigation takes us.”
The Welcome Elementary student died Aug. 12 of asphyxia due to neck compression, said Greenville County Deputy Coroner Karie Cain.
Loftis said he expects to be briefed on the case this morning.
Smith told deputies that a man a with a knife got into the passenger side of her 2000 Honda Civic when she stopped at Jacobs Road and an Interstate 85 frontage road between 10:30 and 10:45 p.m., said Master Deputy Michael Hildebrand.
According to Smith, the man told the boy to get into the back seat and ordered her to drive to a wooded area, he said.
The mother told deputies that the man demanded she get out of the car before locking himself inside and putting a pillow over the boy’s face, Hildebrand said.
When deputies arrived, they found the boy on the ground next to the car, Hildebrand said. Smith was on the phone with a dispatcher, who was about to give her instructions on how to perform CPR, Hildebrand said.
Asked what the assailant’s motivation may have been, Loftis said, “That’s part of the investigation.”
Smith suffered injuries in the incident, but deputies have declined to release their extent, Hildebrand said.
Smith provided a suspect description that was turned into a sketch and circulated in the White Horse Road area, which is near the intersection.
Loftis said investigators are still looking into reports that the sketch matched a homeless man seen in the area.
Investigators are also chasing tips they hope will lead to the driver of a white Lincoln Town Car seen in the area between 10:30 and 11 p.m. on the night of the killing, he said.
Read the article HERE.
