Former Marine was shot to death at a Bluffton store in 1994. His killer is still free

A reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible for shooting a former Marine to death inside a Bluffton store in 1994 has been offered as investigators continue to search for his killer.

David Speigel, 38, was found shot to death around 2 a.m. inside the Buckingham Pantry store where he worked as a clerk on Aug. 3, 1994, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office news release.

An investigation revealed that Speigel had been cashing personal checks for local illegal narcotics users who frequented the store, the release said.

When Speigel was shot, the security monitor behind the store’s counter had not been activated, so the incident was not captured on video.

Physical evidence at the scene was difficult to identify since the store had a high volume of customers in and out daily.

Investigators believe robbery was a likely motive for Speigel’s death, but that it amounted to an attempted robbery since nothing was taken from the store.

Rumors of gang initiations and personal vendettas against Speigel have also been investigated, the release said.

Several persons of interest were identified through the personal checks cashed at the store during Speigel’s shift, but physical evidence did not link any of them to Speigel’s murder, the release said.

Anyone with information about the cold case may contact Capt. Bob Bromage at 843-255-3402, 843-816-8013 or robertb@bcgov.net.

Anonymous information may also be given to Crime Stoppers by calling 1-888-Crime-SC.

This story was originally published August 3, 2017 at 4:51 PM with the headline "Former Marine was shot to death at a Bluffton store in 1994. His killer is still free."