Deputies say this woman has been arrested and accused of impersonating a law officer in connection with the Colleton County murder case of Ashley Murdaugh. pic.twitter.com/gTxmWV1XfP
— Andrew Knapp (@offlede) August 24, 2018
The seventh person has been arrested in connection to the murder case of a mother in South Carolina. Shannon Steinbronn is scheduled for a bond hearing Friday after she allegedly posed as a law enforcement office to interfere in the investigation into Ashley Murdaugh‘s death.
Murdaugh, 30, was reported missing by her family on August 8, according to the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office. A weeks-long search turned up her buried remains Tuesday afternoon, deputies said. A spokesman for the sheriff’s office confirmed the results of the autopsy on Friday. He told The Post and Courier that Murdaugh was strangled.
Steinbronn tried to interfere with the investigation, authorities said. Starting on August 19, she called multiple people connected to the case, deputies said in a ABC News 4 report. We’re talking about family members and possible witnesses.
Steinbonn identified herself as a member of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, and told listeners that the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office didn’t have Murdaugh’s family’s best interests in mind. She also contacted the Colleton Medical Center and its Head of Medicine to try and get her hands on sensitive information about Murdaugh’s blood type, injuries, and manner of death–before the victim had even been discovered, deputies said.
Investigators provided no alleged motivation. Steinbonn is charged with impersonating a law enforcement officer and obstruction of justice.
This has built up to a rather long list of suspects.
Three people ended up getting arresting for first-degree murder: Cynthia Caron, Alfred Taylor Jr. and Martina Wolf. They were denied bond. John Dunigan, Tammy Lott, and Wayne Moore were each charged with being an accessory after the fact.
A Colleton County court clerk told Law&Crime that the warrants for the defendants had just arrived at the office, so information on their attorneys were not available as of Friday.
[Mugshot via Colleton County]
