Woman charged as an accessory in deadly October 2021 Lady’s Island shooting, cops say
Nearly a year after two people were charged for a shooting that killed a man on Lady’s Island, a third person has been charged for her alleged involvement in the case, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.
Josephine Seabrook, 35, of St. Helena, was charged as an accessory after the fact in the murder of 47-year-old Laventis Cohen, jail records show.
Both William Johnson III, 22, of St. Helena and Brittany Smalls, 30, of Beaufort, already have been charged with murder, obstruction of justice and possession of a weapon in the commission of a violent crime, court records show.
On Oct. 16, 2021, deputies responded to a home on Brickyard Point North Road and found Cohen’s body inside. The man had been shot multiple times, according to previous reporting by the Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette. Smalls, who lived at the Brickyard Point home, was there when police arrived but was not charged at the time.
Police accused Seabrook of picking up Johnson from Brickyard Point North Road, where the shooting took place, and driving him to Augusta, Georgia, where he was later arrested, according to a warrant.
The shooting is still under investigation and stemmed from a “domestic situation,” Staff Sgt. Danny Allen, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, said Thursday.
Seabrook was released from the Beaufort County Detention Center on a $50,000 personal recognizance bond Tuesday.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREWhy we did this story:
The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette newspapers are making an effort to update stories we’ve published where criminal charges were filed. Criminal charges mean law enforcement had probable cause to arrest someone, but a court decides on a person’s guilt and conviction. If our newspaper has written about a crime where charges were brought, we want to use public records to show what happened in that case. If you think a crime story featuring you or someone you know needs updating, email Sofia Sanchez at ssanchez@islandpacket.com or newsroom@islandpacket.com.
This story was originally published September 15, 2022 at 6:20 PM.
