Richard W. Patterson Jr. was 24 when his body was found in the trunk of an abandoned car on October 22, 2018, on a side road off Tairney Lane in rural Berkeley County, near St. Stephen. A property owner who noticed the unfamiliar vehicle opened the trunk after finding the keys; the Berkeley County Coroner’s Office confirmed Patterson died of gunshot wounds and ruled his death a homicide.

Patterson was a 2012 Berkeley High School graduate who ran cross-country and wrestled. He was a lifelong member of Moncks Corner Pentecostal Holiness Church and enjoyed fishing and spending time with family. Detectives with the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office investigated the killing, and on October 25, 2018, officials arrested 33-year-old Richard Elliott Sanders of St. Stephen and charged him with murder.

Did anyone in the area know Patterson or have information about the events leading up to October 22, 2018?