A 37-year-old North Carolina man has been charged with helping a person commit suicide after deputies found a person dead from a crossbow arrow wound to the head at a scene on Willow Creek Boulevard in Lugoff last month. Bradley Thompson was at the scene on Willow Creek Boulevard when deputies arrived around 7:45 p.m. on October 9, and he told authorities the death was a suicide.
According to WACH, the Kershaw County Sheriff's Office said deputies were responding to a reported suicide when they found the victim, whom authorities say was Thompson's partner, dead at the scene. The crossbow involved in the incident belonged to Thompson, according to the station's report.
Multiple Agencies Investigated the Death
The Kershaw County Sheriff's Office investigated alongside the Kershaw County Coroner's Office and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, per the same account. As reported by Kool 102.7, deputies responded to Willow Creek Boulevard on October 9th, where they found a person deceased from a crossbow arrow wound to the head.
WACH reported that investigators presented their findings to the 5th Circuit Solicitor's Office for review and that an arrest warrant was issued charging Thompson with helping a person commit suicide. Thompson surrendered to authorities, was booked into the Kershaw County Detention Center, and was later released on a $40,000 cash or surety bond, Kool 102.7 reported.
What South Carolina Law Says About the Charge
South Carolina law makes it unlawful for a person to assist another person in committing suicide, according to the state legal code published by Justia. Under that statute, a violation carries a maximum penalty of imprisonment for not more than fifteen years or a fine of not more than one hundred thousand dollars, or both.
The circumstances surrounding the person's death, including who owned the home and the full sequence of events that night, have not been detailed by authorities. The current status of the case against Thompson has also not been made public.
