Man with violent past charged in brutal murder of elderly Beaufort woman, police say

A Seabrook man convicted of multiple violent acts in Beaufort County has been arrested in the brutal murder of a 70-year-old woman.

Forensic evidence links Jermaine Lemonte Thurston, 42, to the murder of Theresa Coker, a Beaufort Police Department press release says.

The release says the crime happened on Oct. 2, but according to previous press releases, employees from her rental company found her body Oct. 9 at her Polk Street home. Her vehicle was found in the Seabrook area a day after her body was discovered.

She died from blunt force trauma and strangulation, according to an autopsy the police department released this month.

The police department had not said as of Tuesday night whether there was any indication that Thurston and Coker knew each other.

Armed robbery, violent burglary and trespassing/entering a premises after warning or refusing to leave are a few of Thurston’s previous convictions in Beaufort County, according to court records.

He also has convictions for threatening or intimidating voters, simple assault and malicious injury.

His criminal history stretches from 1994 to 2009 in Beaufort County, court records show.

Thurston remained in Beaufort County Detention Center Tuesday night with no bond.

Coker lived in the house for about a month, neighbors say. She often waved to them but kept to herself.

In the days following Coker’s death, neighbors said they were given little information from the police and were afraid.

Coker is the 11th homicide in Beaufort County in 2019. It is the first homicide this year in the Beaufort Police Department’s jurisdiction.

The city of Beaufort had one homicide last year.

On Sep. 8, 2018, Stephon Chaplin was shot and killed at Spanish Trace Apartments. Jibri McNair was charged with murder in the days following the crime. His case is pending.