Dorchester County woman dead from heat stroke

RIDGEVILLE, S.C. (AP) — An autopsy shows a 63-year-old Dorchester County woman died from heat stroke.

Coroner Chris Nisbet says Tuesday’s autopsy shows Verbenia DeLee Jefferson also had dementia, which may have played a role in her death. Nisbet says Jefferson died Sunday and was discovered by relatives Monday afternoon.

Nisbet says the woman lived alone in a mobile home. He says not only did she fail to turn on the air conditioning, but she may have turned the heat up. Relatives had opened all the windows and turned on the air conditioning when they arrived, but the coroner says it was still 100 degrees in the home when he got there.

He says Jefferson’s death is the first heat-related death in the county this summer.