Coroner says 2 were found dead in a St. Helena home. Police say it’s a double murder.
Authorities in Beaufort County are investigating a possible double murder after two St. Helena residents were found fatally shot in their home Friday night.
David Garder, 38, and Christiana Alkire, 41, were found dead in their Pearl Harbor Lane home following a police welfare check requested by family. It’s unclear when they were killed, but autopsies would be done Monday, Beaufort County Coroner David Ott said.
Police found the bodies while searching the home around 9 p.m. Friday night, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office. Family members said they were concerned for Garder and Alkire after not hearing from them since Wednesday, spokeswoman Maj. Angela Viens said.
The couple had “just moved into the home” prior to the incident, officials told WTOC 11, although Viens did not know how long they had lived there. She added, investigators had not observed any signs of forced entry or a robbery as of Saturday afternoon.
The investigation marks the seventh- and-eighth homicides in Beaufort County this year:
Jan. 1: Jerrieme “L.J.” Washington, 14, was struck and killed by gunfire while playing video games in his Burton home. Police believe he was not the intended target of the drive-by shooting.
Feb. 14: Two men, William Stewart and Roshaun Middleton, were shot and killed during a dispute with a coworker in Bluffton.
March 1: Illinois man Anthony Keith Chapman was killed in a Hilton Head shooting. Deputies arrested Hilton Head resident Moses Young for murder at the scene of the crime.
March 3: A 6-year-old girl died at a local hospital after being shot in the head at Beaufort’s Cross Creek Apartments. Police believe the gunfire was accidental but have made two arrests in connection with the case.
March 6: Port Royal man Roy Philip Knight was killed in a shooting on Hilton Head’s Old Wild Horse Road.
Anyone with information related to the St. Helena investigation is encouraged to contact Investigator Petrone at 843-255-3440 or the anonymous Crime Stoppers of the Lowcountry tip line at 843-554-1110.
