The man accused of killing a 60-year-old woman in her Mount Pleasant home in early February was indebted to her for $20,000, a newly released arrest affidavit shows.
Norman Phillip Browne, 44, was taken into custody in Myrtle Beach on Wednesday night and charged with murder in the death of Ann Witherspoon, whose body was found Feb. 9 in her Seminole Street home after a friend reported her missing.
Witherspoon had been struck over the head with an unknown object, then shot, authorities said, adding that they believe she was killed in her home.
Browne waived his bond hearing Thursday and will remain jailed until he can appear before a circuit judge who will decide whether to set bail. In South Carolina, a magistrate cannot set bail for a charge of murder. Browne was previously charged in the theft of Witherspoon's car.
It was on Feb. 6 when investigators said Browne met with Witherspoon at his storage unit in Myrtle Beach "to talk about his business," according to the affidavit, and a $20,000 loan she had given him. It was not clear, based on the court documents, what the loan may have been used for.
After the meet-up, the two reportedly returned to Browne's apartment where they had a dinner of chipped steak, peas and carrots and afterward returned to the same storage unit.
While at the storage unit, Browne told police that Witherspoon injured her head, which caused a significant amount of bleeding, so he drove her back to her Mount Pleasant residence the same night, according to the affidavit. Once in her home, Browne helped Witherspoon into bed and left back for Myrtle Beach.
The next day, Feb. 7, Browne contended he spoke with Witherspoon on the phone and that they agreed to meet at a Waffle House in Wilmington, N.C., where he would return her car.
When investigators reviewed surveillance footage from that day, they found no evidence that the two ever met up at the restaurant, the affidavit said. The car was found nearby in a parking lot at Cape Fear Community College, which is also in Wilmington.
When Witherspoon was reported missing on Feb. 9 by her friend, according to the affidavit, police found Witherspoon's body in her bedroom. A gun was laid down near her head, where she had been shot, authorities said, in order to make the scene look as if it were a suicide.
"There were large amounts of blood in the bed and officers believe based on the evidence found at the scene that her body was re-positioned in the bed by someone else," the document stated.
The Charleston County Coroner's Office estimated she had died about two days earlier, investigators said.
