SUMTER, S.C. — On Wednesday afternoon, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office and Clarendon County Sheriff’s Office held a joint press conference.
22-year-year-old Sumter resident Jason Tyrell Ford had been arrested in the death of Mae Edith Burgess.
"We got that monster off the street," Sgt. Contrell Watson with the Clarendon County Sheriff's Office shared in the press conference.
The investigation has been a joint effort between Sumter and Clarendon County Sheriff’s Office and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
"We all came together and we all worked numerous hours togethers, we stayed out numerous hours throughout the night and it paid off at the end," Watson explained.
Ford was arrested Tuesday and charged with murder, burglary in the first degree, grand larceny and possession of a weapon during a violent crime.
"This investigation is ongoing and further charges are being made," Sumter County Sheriff Anthony Dennis explained.
According to Clarendon County Sheriff Tim Baxley, Ford killed Burgess in her New Zion mobile home on Dec. 13.
"We feel the motive for that shooting was just to get her car," Baxley said. "She was 72-years-old. Ms. Burgess would have been 73 the day before yesterday."
Burgess's former coworker and friend Thomasena Wheeler reflected on the legacy Burgess left.
"She was very loyal, very friendly, everybody who came across her, she always had a smile, even though we had masks that we wore," Wheeler told me. "I’m relieved that someone who can do something that drastic is no longer walking the streets."
After taking Burgess's 2017 Toyota Corolla, Ford drove to Sumter County, where he tried to steal a second vehicle in Dalzell.
When the vehicle owner approached him, he fired three shots and drove off in the car on Dec. 14, according to investigators.
"These were completely random violent acts against people of Sumter and Clarendon County," Sumter Sgt. Joshua Phillips shared.
"This wasn’t nothing that was targeted. This was just a random act," Baxley added. "The suspect had no knowledge of her, no knowledge of her residence prior to this, it was just a random act that he drove in and chose her house."
Additionally, investigators said no gang violence is suspected and they have no other suspects in mind.
Officers used the Dalzell victim’s account of the incident to find the crime scene at Burgess’s home, where they discovered her body. DNA found at the scene eventually led them to Ford.
Law enforcement still has not located the missing silver 2017 Toyota Corolla. They urge anyone who sees an abandoned car matching this description to call the department or CrimeStoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC.