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S.C. man leads police to 3 dead bodies, then kills self

Kenneth Meyers was driving a victim’s car when deputies began chasing him

By Jeffrey Collins
Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A man killed four people in South Carolina, then took his own life after leading a police chase back to the scene where three of the bodies were found, authorities said Sunday.

Kenneth Meyers, 46, was driving the fourth victim’s car when deputies began chasing him early Sunday morning. Officers fired several shots at Meyers as he tried to ram their cruisers before the chase ended back at the home where deputies found three people dead around 6 p.m. Saturday. Meyers then apparently shot himself, Aiken County Sheriff’s Capt. Charles Barranco said.

The chase started as officers checked on several additional people they thought Meyers might want to hurt, Barranco said.

Investigators have spent all night trying to piece together why Meyers might have gone on the killing spree. Deputies weren’t immediately familiar with him before Saturday night.

“It’s hard to say at this point in the investigation why those people were killed,” Barranco said.

Information such as the names of the victims, how they died and any relationship between them and the suspect will be released later by the coroner’s office, Barranco said.

Phone calls to several listings related to Meyers were not answered Sunday morning.

Some threats Meyers made toward others have been uncovered so far, but investigators said the first people they have talked to during the investigation didn’t think Meyers would turn violent, Barranco said.

The first three bodies were discovered in a secluded, rural home near Wagener, about 40 miles east of Augusta, Ga. Deputies going to check on another person living nearby discovered the fourth body a few hours later, authorities said.

Investigators initially thought Meyers might be heading for Alabama before finding him not far from where all the killings took place.

“We need to try to find some answers,” Barranco said. “We had a lot of people out all night.”

Copyright 2011 Associated Press

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