Oconee Investigators, SLED Looking Into Taylors Murder

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) and the Oconee County Sheriff's Office are looking into simiarities between the Feb. 21 murder of Alice Owenby and the murder of a Seneca woman in July of 2009.

Alice Owenby, 63, was found dead in the burnt rubble of her . A subsequent autopsy revealed she had been shot in the head. She was found underneath several feet of rubble in the bathroom of the home.

That murder shares eery similarities with the 2009 death of Frances Earle. Earle, 74, was found in the bathtub of her 115 Brookwood Drive home in Seneca shot in the head on July 12, 2009. Seneca firefighters responded to a house fire at Earle's single-story home, and just like Owenby, Earle was found dead in the bathroom, from a gunshot wound to the head.

Earle and Owenby were both widows, living alone. Earle's murder remains unsolved.

Capt. Greg Reed, supervizing officer of the Oconee County Sheriff's Office's criminal investigations division, confirmed Wednesday that his agency was looking into the similarities.

"We have spoken with SLED about the similarities in the cases, and they are aware of our incident that happened with Mrs. Earle, and we're aware of the one in Greenville, and we're aware of the similarities between the two," Reed said.

Though WYFF4 has reported that Billy Burch, the 40-year-old man arrested and charged with Owenby's murder, is suspected in Earle's death, Reed said Wednesday that was not the case.

"We have spoken with SLED, who is assisting both of the investigations," Reed said. "But we have not interviewed or questioned him (Burch) at this point. He is not a suspect at this time."

The Oconee County Sheriff's Office has not directly contacted the Greenville County Sheriff's Office, Reed said, adding that the OCSO and SLED are comparing forensic evidence in both cases.

David Shirley, who lives in Taylors and works in Seneca, is the son-in-law of Earle. On Feb. 21, he and his wife, Kathy, found themselves dealing with the horror of a brutal crime in their hometown that so closely echoed Earle's slaying.

"The news about Mrs. Owenby was extremely troubling for us as a family," David said. "It reopened so many wounds and brought back so many emotions that we experienced a few years ago."

"We immediately began praying for her family and also for them to have closure quickly. We still pray every day for that closure to come in Mrs. Earle's case. Everyday we pray that the phone will ring and we too can begin that process," he added.