A man has been charged with the death of a South Carolina woman after she died of a heart attack days after he attempted to break into her home.
Austin Thomas Jones, 40, is charged with involuntary manslaughter for the fatal burglary, which took place on July 24 in North Myrtle Beach.
The woman, who has not been named, died just days later, on July 28, police said.
However, this week, after months of investigation, local police revealed a development in the case – they say they have since discovered that Jones, who was arrested on the day of the crime, was responsible for the woman’s death.
Police immediately ruled the death a homicide and again arrested Jones on Wednesday and set his bail at $2,500.
Public records show that the perpetrator, also a resident of the beachside town, has since been released, while he waits to be tried for the alleged crime.
Police and autopsy reports filed over the summer shed more light on the incident – which ultimately proved fatal to the woman involved. Despite this, the break-in was stopped by arriving authorities, who responded to a panicked phone call from the deceased victim.
Austin Thomas Jones, 40, is now charged with involuntary manslaughter for the July break-in that happened months ago in North Myrtle Beach. Police have since determined that Jones was responsible for her death through his actions
Orders for Jones’ first arrest indicate that the officers named the residence on 20th Avenue South — located just steps from the beach. Upon arrival, they found a “gross drunk” Jones trying to get in. He was arrested and released later that day
Orders for Jones’ first arrest indicate that on July 24, the officers named the residence on 20th Avenue South—a stone’s throw from the city’s scenic beach.
During the call, the female victim told the emergency room that a man she did not know slammed into her rear windows and yelled at her, trying to enter the residence.
The man, later identified as Jones, was heard yelling at the other end of the line by the operators during the call.
Upon their arrival, officers met and arrested a “grossly drunk” Jones, who police said had broken at least one window of the house, which he was trying to gain access to.
Responding officers who took Jones into custody too late noted that the suspect was bleeding from his knuckles. Officers also said Jones smelled of alcohol and had red, bloodshot eyes when questioned.
Small plastic bags were also found on his body, which were later determined to contain cocaine, less than a gram in total.
When officers entered the residence, located in a normally quiet part of town on the beach, they noticed a different, more pressing problem than the confused suspect.
Public records show that the perpetrator, also a resident of the city, was released a day after his second arrest Thursday, after authorities determined he was responsible for the woman’s death. His bail was set at $2,500, which he paid Friday
The woman had fallen after calling 911 in cardiac arrest – a realization made when a responding officer noted that the woman’s breathing had become abnormally tired, even with the recent distress.
The police officers asked her to take a seat to catch her breath, which she obliged, but she soon became unresponsive, police wrote in their report – with the woman eventually falling out of the chair, prompting police to call in a medical team.
After CPR was administered, the woman regained a heartbeat and was taken to a hospital, but she would eventually succumb to her illness five days later.
Despite this, Jones was released just 13 hours after the original offense, record show, with police bagging both a first charge of cocaine possession — a felony — and another public disorderly charge.
Records show Jones was released just 13 hours after the original offence, with police bagging both a cocaine possession charge and another public disorder.
However, on Tuesday — months after the original crime — an autopsy conducted by the Medical University of South Carolina determined that the woman had suffered a heart attack due to “stress caused by the attempted home invasion.”
Police then declared the months-long case a murder and issued a warrant for Jones’s arrest.
He was then tracked down on Wednesday to his home in North Myrtle Beach, a 15-minute drive from the deceased woman’s home, and booked into the nearby J. Reuben Long Detention Center.
However, public records show that Jones was re-released from the center Friday morning, on a $2,500 bond, pending an upcoming trial.
Involuntary manslaughter is classified as the inadvertent killing of another “without malice”, but while still engaged in an unlawful activity.
Jones faces five years in prison if found guilty of the crime.
A date for his possible hearing has not yet been announced. In the meantime, the alleged killer is free to walk on the street.
The post South Carolina woman died of a heart attack after man attempted to break in to her home appeared first on WhatsNew2Day.