Instant Karma! Man Kills Girlfriend, Dies While Burying Her Body

Someone won’t be going fishing after all.

Police believe a Trenton, S.C., man killed his girlfriend but died before he could enjoy his alone time.

Joseph Anthony McKinnon, 60, was found dead in his backyard just feet away from a partially filled-in pit containing the body of his girlfriend, 65-year-old Patrica Ruth Dent.

South Carolina Man Found Dead in Backyard After Having Heart Attack While Burying Girlfriend He Strangled, Police Say #SmartNews https://t.co/5FuljnWIqX

— Ross Bearden (@RossBearden4) May 12, 2022

Police were called to McKinnon’s home when neighbors saw him lying motionless in his backyard. Cops determined he was dead but saw no signs of a struggle. While investigating, police found a recently dug pit containing Dent’s body, bound and wrapped up in garbage bags.

Autopsies reveal Dent was strangled to death and McKinnon died of a heart attack. Police believe McKinnon killed Dent and died while burying her.

McKinnon is believed to have dug the hole the day before the couple was found dead.

Police released a statement,

On Saturday morning Deputies along with the Edgefield County Coroner’s Office, and Edgefield County EMS responded to 102 Tanglewood Drive in Trenton, South Carolina to a call of an unresponsive man lying in his yard. Joseph Anthony McKinnon, 60, of the same address was found to be deceased in his yard.

Mr. McKinnon had no signs of trauma and natural causes were suspected. While investigating the death and making notifications to the next of kin, a second body, was located in a freshly dug pit. Patricia Ruth Dent, 65, of the same address appeared to have died by foul play.

McKinnon’s twin sister, Pam Briggs, was surprised.

“I’m shocked. I didn’t see any of that coming,” Briggs stated. “This is reality and life, and a big part of me is gone, and now I’m going to have to live with that.”