Glass sentenced to life in prison in 2013 murder of Melanie Lowther of Pritchardville
In a crowded Beaufort County courtroom Wednesday, the man charged in the brutal 2013 murder of a well-known Pritchardville woman entered a guilty plea and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Walter Glass, 43, was charged with killing Melanie Lowther, 60, on July 31, 2013, by striking her in the head with a metal nail remover after she caught him burglarizing the septic tank business she ran with her husband.
"This is one of the most vicious attacks that I have seen," 14th Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone said in court Wednesday.
The murder left the community shaken particularly after residents learned that Lowther had tried to help Glass turn his life around.
When she found them living in a tent, she helped Glass and his girlfriend get a camper at the nearby Stoney Crest Campground.
She had also bought the couple groceries, the campground's manager said.
"They (the Lowther family) reached out to try to help him, and he repaid them with this," Stone said of Glass.
"I just want you to know my mom was amazing," Tuesday Mock, Lowther's daughter, said in her statement to Judge Carmen Mullen. "She just had a heart of gold."
Glass also pleaded guilty to the burglary and armed robbery charges against him. In addition to the life sentence, Mullen sentenced him to 15 years on the burglary charge and an additional 30 years for the armed robbery charge. Those sentences will be served consecutively.
His trial had been scheduled to begin Dec. 14.
Public defender Arie Bax detailed a life of hardship for Glass, who he said was placed in foster care as a child before he eventually served prison time for offenses including aggravated burglary and attempted felony escape.
In a statement to Mullen before the sentencing, Holly Humbert, the victim's sister, said, "My sister was the epitome of all things good and kind and she extended that to Mr. Glass and his girlfriend. Even a dog doesn't bite the hand of the person that feeds it."
Follow Caitlin Turner on Twitter at twitter.com/Cait_E_Turner.
This story was originally published December 9, 2015 at 4:37 PM with the headline "Glass sentenced to life in prison in 2013 murder of Melanie Lowther of Pritchardville."