65-year-old was found dead in an apartment fire. Now, SC cops investigate homicide

A 65-year-old woman found dead in an apartment fire may have been killed, officials told South Carolina news outlets.

The woman’s Charleston-area death is “being investigated as a homicide,” WCIV reported on Monday, Sept. 26.

Days earlier, the Moncks Corner Fire Department said a neighbor reported hearing a smoke alarm at an apartment complex on Sept. 22. At about 6 a.m., crews responded to a unit and put out a small fire in a bedroom, Fire Chief Robert Gass told McClatchy News in a phone interview.

But after putting out the flames, firefighters found a woman’s body in the same bedroom. At the time, Moncks Corner Police Chief David Brabham said there was an investigation into the “suspicious” death of the woman, who was found lying next to a “red puddle,” according to WCBD and an incident report.

The woman was identified in the incident report as 65-year-old Susie Kochever.

Firefighters said the woman was found dead in an apartment on Bonnoitt Street in Moncks Corner, roughly 30 miles north of Charleston. An arson team from the S.C. Law Enforcement Division was among the investigating agencies, WCSC reported.

As of Sept. 26, officials hadn’t revealed how Kochever died or named a suspect in the case, news outlets reported.

The Berkeley County Coroner’s Office, which told TV stations details about the homicide investigation, didn’t immediately share additional information with McClatchy News on Sept. 27.

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