Elderly woman beaten to death in South Carolina home, suspect arrested more than a year later

A suspect beat an elderly woman to death in her South Carolina home in 2020. Now, authorities say they have arrested the alleged killer.

On Sept. 19, 2020, police in Lexington, South Carolina, responded to a home and found Janet Buril, 75, dead. She was killed by blunt force trauma to the head, according to police.

Police investigated and collected forensic evidence.

William King, 27, was named as a suspect and police said the forensic evidence matched his DNA.

Investigators did not release a motive for the killing. But, they said, that King and Buril lived in the same neighborhood.

King was arrested on March 14 and charged with homicide. Bond was denied and he is being held in jail.

“We never thought of the murder of Janet Buril as a “cold case” as our detectives have worked on this continuously over the past eighteen months. They knew that at some point an arrest would be made and I commend their determination and focus,” Chief Terrence Green said. “I appreciate the patience and understanding of Janet Buril’s family and friends while we worked through this exhaustive investigation. I hope that this arrest brings some level of closure to her needless murder.”