Current:Home > reviewsBody of missing Myrtle Beach woman found under firepit; South Carolina man charged: Police -ProgressCapital
Body of missing Myrtle Beach woman found under firepit; South Carolina man charged: Police
View
Date:2025-04-16 03:59:12
A South Carolina man suspected of killing his roommate has been arrested and charged with murder after the woman's body was found buried under a firepit earlier this summer.
Penni Whiteside had been missing for more than two years before police in June searched the yard outside her Myrtle Beach home to find her remains. Whiteside was 51 years old when she was last seen in the spring of 2022, according to a statement from the Myrtle Beach Police Department.
On Thursday, police arrested 54-year-old Sheridan Dirk Fogle, who was living with Whiteside at the time. Police said Fogle was being charged with murder in connection with the woman's death.
Penni Whiteside went missing in May 2022
Based on her Facebook page, Whiteside had been making plans as early as April 2021 to move from Surfside Beach in South Carolina to Myrtle Beach.
By May 2022, she was reported missing, prompting Myrtle Beach police to begin an investigation into her disappearance. According to a now-inaccessible listing on the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, the last contact with Whiteside was on Jan. 3, 2022.
For more than two years, Whiteside's fate remained a mystery until neighbors told police they had reason to believe the woman was buried under the firepit in the backyard of a home she shared with Fogle. Investigators obtained a search warrant on June 12 for the property, where they uncovered human remains, police said.
On Thursday, the Horry County Coroner's Office confirmed that the remains were those of Whiteside. That same day, Fogle was arrested in Orangeburg, a South Carolina town about 140 miles west of Myrtle Beach.
In a statement, police called Whiteside's death "a tragic loss of life and a senseless crime of violence," and asked the community to "continue to pray for the family and friends of the victim."
Cause, manner of Whiteside's death unknown
Chief Deputy Coroner Tamara Willard told USA TODAY on Monday that the coroner’s office has not yet released a cause or manner of death in the case.
It also remains unclear whether investigators have determined a motive in Whiteside's slaying.
USA TODAY left a message Monday morning for Myrtle Beach police that was not immediately returned.
Fogle appeared in court on Friday, where a judge decided against setting a bond for his release, WPDE-TV reported. Fogle is next due in court Oct. 25.
Neighbors who spoke with WMBF-TV expressed shock about Whiteside's death.
"You have kids playing at the park here every day, and birthday parties, weddings," Nikolai Zaitsev told the outlet. "And I’m sure nobody around here had a clue about what was actually going on.”
Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com
veryGood! (31)
Related
- US auto safety agency seeks information from Tesla on fatal Cybertruck crash and fire in Texas
- Amnesty International asks Pakistan to keep hosting Afghans as their expulsion may put them at risk
- 5 Latin queer musicians to listen to during Hispanic Heritage Month, including Omar Apollo
- 2 divers found dead hours apart off Massachusetts beach
- 'Stranger Things' prequel 'The First Shadow' is headed to Broadway
- Adnan Syed case, subject of 'Serial,' back in court after conviction reinstatement
- It's Texas-OU's last Red River Rivalry in the Big 12. This split is a sad one.
- Rolling candy sold nationwide recalled after death of 7-year-old
- Can Bill Belichick turn North Carolina into a winner? At 72, he's chasing one last high
- Josh Duhamel says Hollywood lifestyle played a role in his split with ex-wife Fergie
Ranking
- In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
- A deputy killed a man who fired a gun as officers served a warrant, Yellowstone County sheriff says
- Joan Baez at peace
- Selena Gomez Details Embarrassment After No Longer Having a Teenager's Body
- Tropical rains flood homes in an inland Georgia neighborhood for the second time since 2016
- FTX co-founder testifies against Sam Bankman-Fried, saying they committed crimes and lied to public
- Texas asks appeal judges to let it keep floating barrier in place on the Rio Grande
- It's Texas-OU's last Red River Rivalry in the Big 12. This split is a sad one.
Recommendation
9/11 hearings at Guantanamo Bay in upheaval after surprise order by US defense chief
A mobile clinic parked at a Dollar General? It says a lot about rural health care
Armed man sought Wisconsin governor at Capitol. After arrest he returned with loaded rifle
Inside the Lindsay Shiver case: an alleged murder plot to kill her husband in the Bahamas
'As foretold in the prophecy': Elon Musk and internet react as Tesla stock hits $420 all
Sam Bankman-Fried stole at least $10 billion, prosecutors say in fraud trial
Trump drops $500 million lawsuit against former attorney Michael Cohen
Is your Ozempic pen fake? FDA investigating counterfeit weight loss drugs, trade group says