Left inset: Tiamo Drakeford (Sumter County Sheriff’s Office). Middle inset: Christine McAbee (Sumter County Sheriff’s Office). Right inset: Kristen Grissom (Sumter County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The Sumter County, South Carolina site where the bodies of McAbee and Grissom were reportedly discovered (WIS/YouTube).
A South Carolina man has been arrested in connection with a case of double murder where two women’s bodies were found “placed” in a clearing.
29-year-old Tiamo Drakeford has been charged with murder, using a weapon during a violent crime, and desecration of human remains, according to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. This arrest occurred nearly a month after Christine McAbee, 35, and Kristen Grissom, 38, were discovered dead.
On August 8, around 1:20 p.m., officers arrived at Richbow Road, a rural area in Sumter County, after a landowner found the bodies and alerted the authorities. The bodies “appeared to have been placed at the location,” according to the sheriff’s office’s statement.
This indicates that the women were suspected to have been killed elsewhere and then abandoned along Richbow Road — where their bodies remained for at least a day.
An autopsy determined that McAbee died from a gunshot injury, while the autopsy for Grissom “did not reveal any physical trauma,” according to local NBC affiliate WIS. Her cause of death is still awaiting a toxicology analysis.
Authorities believe the women knew each other, but how exactly they knew one another is unclear.
Sumter County Sheriff Anthony Dennis expressed gratitude to all the agencies involved in Drakeford’s arrest, including the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, remarking that this incident seemed to be a “targeted crime.”
“Every person from each of these agencies has worked tirelessly to assist my Office in solving this case,” Dennis said. “I have always found it refreshing to be a part of a true team effort to bring closure to our citizens and the families of victims. I am truly humbled and thankful for everyone’s tireless dedication.”
The sheriff also stated that Drakeford’s arrest does not indicate the end of the investigation and “more arrests are anticipated.”
Drakeford was being held in the Sumter County Detention Center as of Friday.
