Joseph Brown was an elderly man in his mid-80s who lived a quiet life in rural Greeleyville, Williamsburg County, South Carolina, after a career as a railway crewmember. On March 30, 2014, Brown was killed by gunfire. Concern grew when he was not seen, and by April 2014 deputies had located his car and found his body hidden in the trunk, converting a welfare check into a confirmed homicide.

Investigators with the Williamsburg County Sheriff’s Office pursued leads and focused on two women they believed connected to the killing; both were charged. The first trial ended in a hung jury. Later developments produced enough evidence for prosecutors to obtain a conviction against Brittany Emoesha Epps for murder and for possessing a firearm during the commission of a violent crime. Records show Epps received a 45-year sentence for murder and a 5-year firearms enhancement, with no parole eligibility; the South Carolina Court of Appeals affirmed those convictions and sentences in State v. Epps.

Reports emphasize Epps’s conviction but are less explicit about the final outcome for the other woman originally charged. Did anyone in the Greeleyville area have contact with Joseph Brown in his final days or information that could resolve remaining questions?