COLUMBIA, S.C. — A childhood friend of an employee found dead inside the Belk bathroom at Columbiana Mall is now seeking justice and demanding action in her friend's name.
Bessie Durham went into the restroom at Belk on September 15. Her body was found four days later. Her childhood friend, Valerie York, is stunned it took so long to find her.
"I don't understand how, not just her, any one of our family members can sit in a store for four days without anybody knowing anything about it," York said.
York has been grieving her friend since she heard about her passing.
"I knew her as a sweet person," York recalled. "She really was a nice lady. She had a beautiful smile and every time I saw her she would just laugh."
Right now, York and the Durham family are preparing for Bessie's funeral. York is also searching for answers and solutions.
"They should implement by law, there should be a Bessie Durham law made that they should check the stores," York explained.
Senate Minority Leader, Brad Hutto says, a law could be a possibility.
"This raises the question... is this incident something that raises to the level of us considering a law, or is it something we leave to businesses to monitor themselves," Hutto stated.
News 19 reached out to Belk about what their business practices are regarding checking restrooms, they did not directly answer that question but did send us a quote saying, "First and foremost, we send our deepest condolences to the family of Bessie Durham, who was found inside a family restroom at our Columbiana Centre location. Ms. Durham provided housekeeping services through her employer, an outside contractor company that provides cleaning services for the store. We are actively working to piece together what happened. Meanwhile, we have also made counselors available to associates seeking support."
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Hutto says once the investigation wraps up and the public has more information, state lawmakers could introduce a bill at the end of the session.
"New bills usually come on the floor at the end of the session," Hutto explained. "We could see something after the November election."
An autopsy suggests no foul play is suspected in Bessie Durham's death. Since Durham was found, police have continued investigating the incident and said they've interviewed employees and taken statements at Belk. We reached out for further comment from the police on Friday, September 23 but did not receive a response.