The mystery surrounding the death of Derrick Coleman, whose body was discovered in a manhole in Johnston, S.C., in 2022, has finally been solved. Investigators have made an arrest in the case, more than three years after the killing of the 41-year-old victim in Edgefield County.
Bernard Montreze Chinn, 31, was arrested this month and charged with murder, removal of human remains, and weapon possession. In addition, 28-year-old Keyona Shauntay Butler was charged with accessory after the fact to murder.
According to arrest warrants released on Thursday, Chinn shot Coleman multiple times on Lee Street in Johnston on Nov. 1, 2022. After the shooting, Chinn placed Coleman’s body in the back of an SUV and transported it to the area of Sandra Drive, where he disposed of it in a sewer manhole.
Coleman’s body was found three days later on Nov. 4, 2022. Investigators pieced together the events based on physical and video evidence, as well as witness statements obtained during the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) investigation.
At the time of Coleman’s death, his family was devastated. Derrick’s sister, Derricka C. Booker, expressed her grief and confusion on Facebook. She asked how her brother, known as “Smurf,” could have been killed in Johnston, a place where they had all grown up.
“His body was found just a few feet from the house we grew up in,” Booker wrote. “This is crazy to me! He survived living in Columbia for years, survived jail, but couldn’t survive in his own hometown!” Booker vowed to continue searching for answers and urged the public to come forward with any information.
Authorities say Butler helped Chinn by allowing him to use her 2002 Ford Explorer to remove Coleman’s body from the shooting scene. The two returned together to the area where Coleman was shot, and video footage, physical evidence, and witness interviews confirmed their involvement.
The Edgefield County Sheriff’s Office and the Johnston Police Department assisted with the SLED investigation. Both suspects were arrested on Feb. 14 and were booked into the Edgefield County Detention Center.
The arrests bring some closure to a case that has haunted the community for years.
