On the evening of December 11, 2024, deputies from the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office responded to a home on Confederate Circle in Taylors, South Carolina, after reports of a shooting. They found 47-year-old Joseph Sterling Barker with a gunshot wound; he was taken to a local hospital and later pronounced dead. The Greenville County Coroner’s Office ruled the cause of death a gunshot wound and classified it a homicide.

Investigators focused on Barker’s 47-year-old roommate, Frederick Bernard Williams, after identifying an ongoing conflict between the two men that escalated into the fatal encounter. Deputies also learned of an unrelated domestic violence incident involving Williams the day before. Williams was arrested and charged with murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, two counts of possession of a firearm by a person with certain prior convictions, and possession of less than one gram of methamphetamine. He is being held without bond at the Greenville County Detention Center as the investigation continues.

Barker is survived by his wife of 22 years, two daughters, a sister, and three grandchildren; his family plans a later celebration of his life. If anyone has information about the events leading up to December 11 in Taylors, please come forward.