‘Peacemaker’ found shot to death in a ditch mourned in Seabrook and Bluffton

Twenty-eight-year-old Edward “Ada” Sean Aiken, who was found shot to death along a Seabrook road early Wednesday, was the peacemaker of his small community, neighbors, friends and family said.

“It is hurtful that someone could do that to a person with his spirit,” Tony Gillison said of the cousin he called a brother. “That they could disregard him and leave him in a ditch.”

The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that Aiken’s death is being classified as an “apparent murder.” A forensic autopsy is scheduled for Thursday at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.

Residents of the community in which the slain man lived see each other as a family — a bond as thick as blood.

On Wednesday afternoon, about 30 people gathered on the side of Seabrook Center Road, where Aiken’s body was found, as police continued to investigate at the scene.

Aiken, who also called himself “Ada,” often babysat for Seabrook families. Over and over again, those who knew him mentioned his love for children.

They also said he was “chill” and “a jokester.”

They struggled to understand why anyone would shoot someone they said didn’t cause trouble.

They said they will miss the calming effect he had on those around him.

A few days ago, people gathered to learn the gender of the baby of an expectant mother, Antoinette Jenkins said. The revealing was taking longer than planned, and everyone was becoming grouchy.

“Everyone was hot and tired, and he started joking,” Jenkins said. “He made everyone laugh.”

He was known for defusing such tense situations.

While he worked to get along with everyone, he also was proud of who he was, said Shantel Williams, a longtime girlfriend of Aiken’s uncle.

Aiken came out as bisexual while in high school, family and friends said. He was active in the LGBT scene in Savannah.

The Sheriff’s Office release omits the use of pronouns when identifying Aiken, but family and friends said he identified as a male and used pronouns such as “he and him.”

“He was full of life and had a high spirit,” Williams said.

He had a flair for style and was the one person you wanted doing your hair, she added.

Aiken was mourned beyond the tight Seabrook community.

A Facebook post from Which Wich in Bluffton, where Aiken worked, said the business was closed Wednesday to deal with his loss.

“Last night we lost a family member, best friend and beautiful person,” the posts states. “We will be closed today to grieve this heavy loss. Please keep his family in your thoughts.”

No suspects have been located, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, but deputies discovered evidence of the shooting at a residence near where Aiken’s body was found, according to an updated news release sent late Wednesday afternoon.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Cpl. Jennifer Snider at 843 255-3421 or Crimestoppers at 1-888-CrimeSC if wishing to remain anonymous and for possible reward.

This story was originally published July 18, 2018 at 5:27 PM.