Cause of death determined after remains found in plastic containers in Pee Dee home

FLORENCE COUNTY, S.C. (WMBF) – The Florence County coroner is giving an update on a disturbing case in the Pee Dee.

During an investigation near Lake City last Saturday, Florence County Sheriff TJ Joye said deputies found containers with body parts in them that appeared to be cut up.

Florence County Coroner Keith von Lutcken revealed Friday that those remains belong to a woman and that she died from blunt force trauma.

von Lutcken said that identifying the woman will still take some more time.

However, Joye previously said the remains are most likely those of Christy Ward.

Joye described the discovery as “something like out of a horror movie.”

The sheriff’s office said what began as a missing persons case out of Brunswick County, N.C., turned into a death investigation.

Loved ones reported Christy Ward and Charles Antwine Jr. missing from the home in Brunswick County last week.

A Florence County deputy was checking the Lynches River boat landing at Riverside Cemetery on Saturday when he saw the roof of a mostly submerged car.

Fire, EMS, and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources recovered the car, but no one was inside.

The South Carolina license plate was registered to Antwine, who has an address on Stillwater Road near Lake City.

Deputies went to the home to conduct a property check, where they detected an unusual smell coming from the house, and no one was answering.

They obtained a search warrant, and upon entering the home, they found Antwine sitting on the couch.

That’s when deputies found the body parts in three plastic totes that were taped shut, according to Joye.

Investigators arrested Antwine and charged him with desecration of human remains.

A judge denied Antwine’s bond, deferring that decision to a Circuit Court.

Stay with WMBF News for updates on the case.

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