Body of woman missing for 2 years found under backyard firepit, roommate charged with murder
Sheila Paras/Getty Images
(MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.) — A South Carolina man has been arrested and charged with murder in the death of his former roommate who was missing for over two years before her body was found buried under a firepit earlier this summer, police said.
Penni Whiteside’s remains were discovered buried in the yard outside her home on June 12 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, according to a statement from the Myrtle Beach Police Department. She had been missing since the spring of 2022 when she was 51-years-old.
Neighbors told police that they had reason to believe Whiteside was buried under the firepit in the backyard of her home, where 54-year-old Sheridan Dirk Fogle was also living at the time, police said.
“As stated in the original report, the identified victim had been living with the offender. Further investigation revealed that due to statements made by her neighbors, there was reason to believe that she may have been buried near the residence, in the backyard under a firepit,” said the Myrtle Beach Police Department. “On June 12, 2024, investigators obtained a search warrant for the property in question. During the search, the victim’s remains were recovered and identified.”
Whiteside’s death was being investigated by authorities as a homicide when, on Thursday morning at approximately 7:30 a.m., an arrest warrant was served to Fogle in Orangeburg, South Carolina, in connection with a “missing person and murder case.”
Fogle was arrested in connection with the death of Whiteside on Thursday and has since been charged with murder, authorities said.
“This is a tragic loss of life and a senseless crime of violence. Please continue to pray for the family and friends of the victim,” authorities said. “The Myrtle Beach Police Department is committed to seeking justice and holding those accountable for those who do harm. Thank you to the U.S. Marshals Service- Carolina’s Regional Fugitive Task Force and the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety for assisting with the arrest in this case.”
Fogle appeared in court on Friday and a judge did not set bond for the suspect, according to ABC News’ Florence, South Carolina, affiliate WPDE. The Myrtle Beach judge did confirm, however, that the case against Fogle would be referred to the general sessions court and that two future court dates on Oct. 25 and Dec. 13 have been scheduled.
The investigation is currently ongoing and authorities have said that no other information will be released at this time.
(NEW YORK) — A new storm — which will strengthen into Hurricane Helene — is taking aim at Florida, where it’s forecast to make landfall along the Big Bend area as a hurricane on Thursday.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Tampa airport to close
The Tampa International Airport will close at 2 a.m. Thursday ahead of Hurricane Helene, officials said.
Airport officials expect to reopen Friday.
North Carolina declares state of emergency
North Carolina has declared a state of emergency ahead of Hurricane Helene, Gov. Roy Cooper announced on Wednesday.
“Helene threatens heavy rain, flash flooding, landslides, and damaging winds to the mountains and Piedmont areas of our state,” the governor warned in a statement. “Now is the time for North Carolinians to prepare, make sure emergency kits are up-to-date and pay attention to the weather alerts.”
The state is preparing water rescue teams and urban search and rescue teams to help respond to the storm.
Universities, schools close as Helene approaches
Florida A&M University, the University of Tampa, the University of Florida and Florida State University’s Tallahassee campus have all announced closures ahead of Hurricane Helene’s landfall. The University of Tampa is under a mandatory evacuation order.
Younger students will also be out of school in counties including Pasco, Pinellas, Hernando, Citrus, Sarasota, Leon and Hillsborough.
-ABC News’ Alex Faul
Latest forecast
Helene, currently a Category 1 hurricane, is expected to rapidly intensify and could reach major category status — Category 3 — by Thursday morning.
Helene could be a high-end Category 3 hurricane with 125 mph winds by the time it makes landfall Thursday night in the Big Bend area of Florida. Helene might even be a Category 4 hurricane with 130 mph winds during landfall.
A hurricane warning is in effect just north of Tampa, covering Apalachicola, Florida; Tallahassee, Florida; and Valdosta, Georgia.
A tropical storm warning is in effect in Jacksonville, Florida; Orlando, Florida; Miami; and Charleston, South Carolina.
Inland flash flooding is also a major concern.
A separate storm is bringing heavy rain to Georgia and the Carolinas on Wednesday, so the additional rain from Helene could cause a historic flood event in the southern Appalachians Thursday night into Friday.
A tropical storm watch has been extended further north to include Atlanta and Asheville, North Carolina, for Thursday night into Friday morning. Strong, damaging winds up to 70 mph are possible in Atlanta on Friday.
-ABC News’ Max Golembo
University of Tampa students ordered to evacuate
The University of Tampa is ordering all students who live on campus to evacuate by 1 p.m. Wednesday, citing mandatory evacuation orders from Hillsborough County officials.
Hurricane Helene is forecast to bring dangerous storm surge to the Tampa Bay area.
“The residence halls will be closed after the evacuation concludes, and there will be no entry allowed into residential buildings until they are reopened following the storm,” the university said in a message to students.
The University of Tampa said it plans to resume operations on Monday.
-ABC News’ Alex Faul
Helene strengthens to Category 1 hurricane
Helene has strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds of 80 mph.
Helene — now located about 500 miles south-southwest of Tampa, Florida — is the fifth hurricane to form in the Atlantic Basin this season.
64 of Florida’s 67 counties under watches or warnings
Sixty-four out of Florida’s 67 counties are under alerts as Helene nears the state, said Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.
Only three counties — Escambia, Okaloosa and Santa Rosa — are not under some type of watch or warning, like tropical storm, storm surge or hurricane, he said.
Wednesday is the last day for Floridians to finalize preparations before Helene hits, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned.
All Floridians should be prepared for power outages, DeSantis added.
At least 12 health care facilities, including hospitals and nursing homes, are evacuating, and more may choose to do so in the coming hours, the governor said.
-ABC News’ Alex Faul
Extreme flash flooding possible in Blue Ridge Mountains in Georgia, Carolinas
Extreme flash flooding is possible in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
First, a storm system separate from Helene is hitting the south on Wednesday. Up to 6 inches of rain is possible over the next 24 hours, bringing a flash flood risk from Atlanta to Asheville, North Carolina.
Then, Thursday afternoon through Friday morning, Hurricane Helene will bring even more extreme rain and flooding to the southern Appalachians.
A rare “high risk” alert for heavy rain has been issued. Up to 15 inches of rain is possible in some spots.
-ABC News’ Max Golembo
How storm surge works and why it’s so dangerous
Helene is forecast to bring 10 to 15 feet of dangerous storm surge to Florida’s Big Bend area, and 4 to 8 feet of storm surge to Tampa Bay.
In 2005, during Hurricane Katrina, at least 1,500 people died “directly, or indirectly, as a result of storm surge,” according to the National Hurricane Center.
Click here to read how storm surge works and why it’s so dangerous.
Helene nears hurricane strength
Tropical Storm Helene is nearing hurricane strength Wednesday morning as it churns just of the northeastern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula.
Helene is about 100 miles west-southwest from the western tip of Cuba.
Tropical storm forecast to ‘rapidly’ intensify into major hurricane
Tropical Storm Helene was expected to “rapidly” strengthen and grow in size as it moved on Wednesday into the Gulf of Mexico, U.S. weather officials said.
The storm as of about 4 a.m. local time had maximum sustained winds of about 65 mph, the National Hurricane Center said. It was expected to intensify into a hurricane on Wednesday, before further strengthening into a “major” hurricane on Thursday, the center said.
Helene early Wednesday was traveling northwest at about 9 mph, the center said.
“On the forecast track, the center of Helene will pass near the northeastern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula this morning, move across the eastern Gulf of Mexico on later today and Thursday, and reach the Big Bend coast of Florida late Thursday,” the center said.
Biden approves Florida emergency declaration ahead of Helene’s landfall
As Florida residents prepare for Tropical Storm Helene to make landfall Thursday, the White House has approved the state’s emergency declaration.
President Biden’s approval allows for federal assistance to supplement state, tribal and local response efforts.
The Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will coordinate all federal disaster relief efforts, according to the White House’s statement.
Biden’s approval Tuesday comes as officials in Sarasota County announced a Level A evacuation order for portions of two neighborhoods beginning Wednesday morning at 7:00 a.m. ET.
Officials encouraged residents in Curry Creek, Hatchett Creek, Venice and those in Forked Creek, Englewood to be aware of the conditions and stay alert for further updates.
Hurricane warnings issued for portions of Florida’s Panhandle, Big Bend and Gulf Coast
On the current track, Tropical Storm Helene is forecast to make landfall late Thursday night, between 8:00 and 10:00 p.m. ET, as a major Category 3 hurricane with winds up to 115 mph in the Florida Big Bend region.
Hurricane warnings have been issued for Florida’s Panhandle, Big Bend and Gulf Coast regions and hurricane watch warnings have extended into southern Georgia.
Officials have issued tropical storm warnings from Naples and Fort Myers to Orlando and tropical storm watch warnings are in place across Florida’s east coast up to Savannah, Georgia.
Helene’s latest forecast
Helene is expected to strengthen to a hurricane on Wednesday as it enters the Gulf of Mexico and strengthen further to a major Category 3 hurricane by Thursday morning.
A hurricane watch is in effect in Florida from Tallahassee to Tampa, where hurricane conditions will be possible late Wednesday night through late Thursday night.
Wednesday night into Thursday morning, Helene’s outer bands will start to lash Florida’s Gulf Coast. The worst of the conditions will be throughout the day on Thursday.
Helene is forecast to make landfall Thursday night along Florida’s Big Bend region as a Category 3 hurricane. Winds could be up to 115 mph during landfall.
Helene is expected to be a large hurricane, which means impacts will extend significantly beyond the center, impacting most of Florida and much of the Southeast.
After landfall, Helene is forecast to quickly move north into Georgia, bringing heavy rain and strong winds to the South.
A significant flash flood risk stretches from the Florida Panhandle to South Carolina — including Tallahassee to Atlanta — Thursday night into early Friday.
-ABC News’ Melissa Griffin
How much rain, storm surge to expect
Ten to 15 feet of dangerous storm surge is forecast for Florida’s Big Bend area. Tampa Bay could see 4 to 8 feet of storm surge.
Four to 8 inches of rain is expected from Helene, with 12 inches locally, bringing major flash flooding.
Tornadoes are also possible on Wednesday and Thursday.
Damaging wind gusts over 100 mph will be possible in Tallahassee and Florida’s Big Bend area during landfall Thursday night.
-ABC News’ Melissa Griffin
Universities, schools close ahead of Helene
Ahead of Helene, Florida A&M University in Tallahassee canceled class from Tuesday afternoon through Friday. The university will be closed Wednesday through Friday.
Florida A&M said this weekend’s home football game and parents’ weekend will be rescheduled.
Florida State University said its Tallahassee campus will be closed from Wednesday morning to Sunday night.
FSU Tallahassee students can stay on campus during the closure, but should plan for possible power outages and be prepared to possibly stay inside all day Thursday, the university warned.
Officials in Florida are also closing public schools in multiple counties, including Pasco, Pinellas, Hernando, Citrus and Sarasota.
Mandatory evacuations have been announced in parts of Charlotte and Franklin counties.
Helene strengthens to tropical storm: Latest forecast
Helene, currently located about 180 miles east southeast of Cozumel, Mexico, strengthened to a tropical storm on Tuesday morning.
The forecast shows Helene moving through the Yucatan Channel Wednesday morning, bringing near hurricane-force wind gusts to Cancun, Mexico.
By Thursday morning, coastal flooding will reach Florida, including Naples and Fort Myers.
On Thursday night, Helene will make landfall near Apalachicola, Florida.
Dangerous wind gusts up to 105 mph are expected and storm surge will be a major threat for the Tampa Bay area.
By Friday morning, the center of Helene will be near Atlanta, bringing strong winds to Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina and North Carolina.
Downed trees and power lines will be a major danger across the Southeast.
The flash flood threat will continue into the weekend in the Tennessee, Ohio and Mississippi River Valleys.
State of emergency declared in 61 Florida counties
Helene is forecast to be a major hurricane by the time it makes landfall Thursday night, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned Monday.
A state of emergency has been declared in 61 of Florida’s 67 counties, DeSantis said.
“The Big Bend and Panhandle should be especially prepared for a direct impact,” the governor said, and he urged residents to know their evacuation zone.
“You have time to be able to put this place into place,” DeSantis said, noting Helene’s impacts could begin Wednesday.
Latest forecast
Helene will strengthen to a hurricane Tuesday night, and rain is expected to begin in Florida Wednesday afternoon into Thursday morning.
On Thursday evening, Helene will make landfall along Florida’s Big Bend area, located between Tallahassee and Gainesville.
Storm surge could reach up to 15 feet in the Big Bend area.
Heavy rain and strong winds are also major threats.
A hurricane watch is in effect for Florida’s Gulf Coast and a tropical storm watch was issued from Orlando to the Florida Keys.
By Thursday night into Friday, the storm will quickly push into Georgia with very heavy rain, gusty winds and possible flash flooding.
This weekend, the storm will stall over the Mid-South, bringing heavy rain and possible flooding to the Tennessee, Ohio and Mississippi River Valleys.
A flood watch has been issued in Florida from Fort Myers to Tampa to Tallahassee, as well as in southern Georgia and Alabama.
Shareif Ziyadat/Getty Images for United Justice Coalition
(DALLAS) — Former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger became eligible for parole over the weekend, five years after being convicted of murder in the fatal 2018 shooting of Botham Jean. Jean’s family is calling for the parole board to reject early release for Guyger and to ensure that she serves her full 10-year sentence.
“We have to deal with that sentence for the rest of our lives. So for the person responsible for taking Botham away from us just unjustly and senselessly, the logical thing to do is to have her serve her full sentence,” Allisa Charles-Findley, Jean’s sister, told ABC News in an interview on Monday. “And 10 years, to me, it’s a light sentence for murder.”
Guyger fatally shot 26-year-old Jean on Sept. 6, 2018 while he was eating ice-cream in his Dallas, Texas, home after mistakenly entering his apartment believing it was her own. She was convicted of murder on Oct. 1, 2019, after a jury unanimously rejected Guyger’s self-defense claims in the fatal shooting.
Charles-Findley and her family, including her mother and brother Brandt, who publicly forgave Guyger in an extraordinary moment during her sentencing hearing in 2019, all want to see Guyger serve her full sentence and are planning to share their thoughts in interviews with the parole board next week, she told ABC News.
“Brandt’s forgiveness of Amber Guyger does not mean that she does not get to be punished for her crime,” Charles-Findley said. “Forgiveness doesn’t supersede punishment, so whether he forgave her or not, that has no bearing on her serving her full sentence for committing that crime.”
The date for Guyger’s parole hearing hasn’t been set, and her attorney didn’t immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
Death of an innocent man: Timeline of wrong-apartment murder trial of Amber Guyger
Guyger was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Oct. 2, 2019 and became eligible for parole on Sunday — the day that would have been Jean’s 33rd birthday.
With Guyger ‘s parole eligibility, Charles-Findley said that her brother’s birthday this year was a “very difficult day” for the family as they honored his memory.
“Botham was a praise leader at church, so every single song just reminded me of him. I could hear him singing it,” she said. “So yesterday was hard. We spent it together at church. But after that, I just needed time alone and, like the past six years, I’ve spent Botham’s birthday just crying in bed.”
Guyger, who was fired from her job as a Dallas police officer in the wake of the shooting, was initially facing a maximum sentence of up to 99 years in prison in this case.
Her sentence initially disappointed Jean’s family, with some of them breaking down in tears and shaking their heads after it was announced.
“Ten years was a bitter pill to swallow, but eventually I accepted it,” Charles-Findley told ABC News. “So now, five years later, to have to deal with her being eligible for early release … it feels like just going through this whole trial all over again, because every single minute I have this pit in my stomach just wondering if she will be let go early, and how, how am I now supposed to accept it?”
Amber Guyger convicted of murder in wrong-apartment killing of innocent man
While delivering her victim impact statement ahead of Guyger’s October 2019 sentencing hearing, Jean’s mother, Allison Jean, said she has struggled to work or sleep and her family’s lives had not been the same since her middle child was killed.
“I have to keep the family together because everybody’s in pain,” she said.
Meanwhile, Guyger’s mother, Karen Guyger, said that her daughter hasn’t been the same since the shooting and she “wanted to take [Jean’s] place. She’d always tell me she wished she could have taken his place. She feels very bad about it.”
Jean’s then-18-year-old brother took the witness stand and spoke to Guyger.
“I know if you go to God and ask him, he will forgive you,” Brandt Jean said.
Brandt Jean, who opened up about why he chose to forgive his brother’s killer in an exclusive interview with “Good Morning America” on Oct. 4, 2019, then asked the judge if he could give Guyger a hug — a request that the judge granted.
“This is what you have to do to set yourself free,” Brandt Jean told “GMA.” “I didn’t really plan on living the rest of my life hating this woman.”
Extraordinary act of mercy: Brother of Botham Jean hugs and forgives Amber Guyger after 10-year sentence imposed
Charles-Findley said that while her brother forgave Guyger because it was “necessary for him to be relieved of the burden,” she is “not there yet.”
“I haven’t started to process forgiving Amber Guyger. I know for me, my reasoning is, I don’t believe her story. I don’t believe she has been honest with the events that took place that night,” she said.
Charles-Findley has petitioned the U.S. Department of Justice to look into this case as she seeks “full accountability,” she noted.
“As his big sister, I will not stop until I just try my hardest to get full accountability for him because he deserves it. He did nothing wrong. Eating ice cream in your apartment, watching football is not a crime, no matter the color of your skin,” she said.The Justice Department didn’t immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
After her conviction, Guyger’s attorney filed multiple appeals, but they were rejected by the Court of Criminal Appeals — Texas’s highest court — in 2022, according to ABC Dallas affiliate WFAA.
Unless she is released on parole, court records indicated that Guyger has a projected release date of Sept. 29, 2029.
ABC News’ Bill Hutchinson contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Multiple motorists stranded on flooded roadways in New York and New Jersey had to be rescued from their submerged vehicles Tuesday night as some parts of the region got six inches of rain in about three hours, according to officials.
The super-soaker storm brought torrential rain to New York City, Long Island, New Jersey and Connecticut, dumping two to three inches an hour, meteorologist Bill Goodman of the National Weather Service office in Upton, New York, told ABC News on Wednesday morning.
“Between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. is when it was really the worst. That’s rush hour,” Goodman said of Tuesday night’s storm.
He said some parts of New York City, including northern Manhattan and the Bronx, recorded up to 6 inches of rain Tuesday evening.
New York City Emergency Management officials said multiple motorists were stranded on flooded roadways and had to be pulled from their vehicles by rescue crews.
Six people were rescued from their vehicles when they got stuck in flood waters on the Cross Island Parkway in New York City, emergency management officials said.
Flood water also inundated the Henry Hudson Parkway in the Bronx borough of New York City, where firefighters had to rescue a stranded driver, according to the New York City Fire Department. At the height of the storm, the highway was briefly closed at West 232nd Street in the Bronx, officials said.
On Long Island, police in the Nassau County town of Glen Cove had to rescue two people from a BMW that got stuck in water that authorities said was too high to drive through safely. Port Washington, about 10 miles from Glen Cove, recorded 4.66 inches of rain Tuesday evening, the most of any Long Island city, according to the NWS.
Elsewhere in the region, flooding on the Palisades Parkway in the Bergen County, New Jersey, city of Englewood Cliffs, caused commuter chaos, officials said. The Teterboro Airport in Bergen County recorded nearly four inches of rain Tuesday night, according to the NWS.
One of the hardest areas of New Jersey was Hackensack, which received nearly 3 inches of rain, according to the NWS.
In a Facebook post Tuesday night, the Hackensack Fire Department said multiple trees in the city were down and numerous streets were flooded. In a warning to motorists, the fire department said, “It continues to monsoon, please do not drive into flooded areas.”
“Multiple people stuck, multiple rescues being made by Hackensack fire members,” the Hackensack Fire Department said in the post. “If you’re in an area and cannot go any further, park your car somewhere dry and wait out the storm…. Turn around, don’t drown.”
There were no reports of injuries in the New York City metropolitan area.
The storm system soaked the Northeast after moving in from the eastern Great Lakes, prompting 163 damaging storm reports, including numerous downed trees and flash flooding, from Michigan to New York.
Goodman said the remnants of Hurricane Debby are forecast to reach the Northeast on Friday, bringing more rain to the region. Debby made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane Monday morning in the Big Bend area of the Florida Panhandle and produced heavy amounts of rainfall as it continued as a tropical storm into Georgia and the Carolinas.
The slow-moving Debby dumped more than 17 inches of rain in Summerville, South Carolina, and at least 6 inches in Cary, North Carolina. Another 6 to 10 inches of rain is forecast for South Carolina and North Carolina on Wednesday and Thursday.
On Thursday, Debby is expected to make its second landfall in South Carolina and then move north into inland North Carolina and Virginia Thursday night.
