Murder arrest made after man stabbed to death in African village in Beaufort County
A 52-year-old woman was charged for stabbing a man to death Monday afternoon in an African village-style community in northern Beaufort County. The 47-year-old deceased male had not been identified as of Tuesday morning.
Beaufort resident Akiba Kasale Meredith was charged with murder and a felony weapons charge. She was booked in the Beaufort County jail just before midnight on Monday, jail records show.
Police responded to a report of a stabbing around 2:45 p.m. Monday at the Oyotunji African Village, located off U.S. 17 in Sheldon. An injured man was taken to the hospital by EMS crews while deputies, K-9 units and police helicopters searched for the suspect, who had fled on foot. Meredith was later found “walking back to the scene of the incident,” according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.
The Beaufort County Coroner’s Office would not name the murder victim Tuesday morning as personnel attempted to determine his next of kin. His autopsy would be conducted Tuesday, according to Coroner David Ott.
Founded in 1970, the Oyotunji African Village is meant to emulate villages of the Yoruba religion in modern-day Nigeria. Its current population is believed to consist of less than 10 families, although the community was home to over 200 people at its height in the 1970s.
While the village is typically quiet and uneventful, Monday’s murder follows a shooting and “family mob” inside the community last September that battered one woman and led to four arrests.
Anyone with information about this case is encouraged to contact the investigator, Sgt. Kline, at 843-255-3430 or submit an anonymous tip at bcso.net.
