Firefighters with the Orangebury County said the early Tuesday morning fire that the home located in Norway, S.C. was deemed suspicious, but a motive has not yet been determined, WSOC reported.
A group of teenagers have made a gruesome discovery when they found a badly decomposed body located inside a freezer at an abandoned South Carolina home, officials said. Days after the discover, the home mysteriously burned down and now police are investigating, officials said.
On Tuesday, firefighters with the Orangeburg County Fire Department said the early morning blaze at the Norway home has been deemed "suspicious." A motive has not yet been determined, WSOC reported.
The group of teens were riding four-wheelers on Sunday when they stopped to explore the abandoned property after they heard rumors that the home had been haunted. Once inside, they found a dead body that had blue jeans and sneakers on stuffed in a freezer located on the porch on the back of the house. The stench was described by one of the witnesses as "rotting flesh," according to an incident report from the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office, The State reported.
“As soon as the seal broke loose, it was just a horrifying smell,” Corey Antley told WACH Fox57.
Police have since declared the house a crime scene, and the body has been turned over to the county coroner’s office, WSOC TV reported.
The Orangeburg County Coroner's Office confirmed that the remains were found in the freezer, but are still working to determine the sex and identity, and manner of death, News 19 reported.
“We won’t know anything more until an autopsy is completed later this week,” Orangeburg Sheriff’s Spokesman Richard Walker said, The State reported.
Madison Childers, one of the teenagers who had been part of the group, said the disturbing experience left her shaken.
“It was very scary. You couldn’t tell it was a person, because... I think it had been in there for months,” Childers told The State, adding “there were maggots everywhere.”
Orangeburg County Chief Deputy Coroner Sean D. Fogle released a statement on the incident. “This process will take some time as we methodically investigate this case to ensure proper closure and positive results,”
The owner of the abandoned property is reportedly cooperating with investigators, WSOC-TV reported.
The investigation is ongoing . Anyone with information is encouraged to call 1-888-CRIME-SC.
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