Sheriff on Body Dismembered Case: ‘He confessed’

CASSATT, S.C. (WOLO) — Investigators say a dispute over money and drugs led to a man killing another man in Kershaw County with a pipe wrench, dismembering his body, and then confessing to the crime, saying he was high on crack at the time the murder was committed. Sheriff Jim Matthews said Raleigh Furman, Jr., is charged with one count of murder in the death of roommate and friend, Larry Thomas, after Furman killed Thomas Friday at a mobile home park on Dogwood Lane in Cassatt, then Saturday, cut apart the body and placed it in several black plastic bags Saturday. Sheriff Jim Matthews said the suspect told a relative what he had done, and that relative called police Monday morning. After responding to a call on Monday, deputies and State Law Enforcement Division agents discovered in a shed behind the trailer four to five black plastic trash bags full of dismembered human body parts. Investigators say Furman confessed to the crime after he and Thomas were at odds about drugs and money. They also say money for bills was instead being used to purchase and smoke crack cocaine. After the argument Friday, authorities say Furman killed Thomas with a pipe wrench before decapitating and dismembering the body. Ironically, that confession came from Furman after he admitted himself to a local hospital for chest pains. Sheriff Jim Matthews believes the suspect exerted much energy in the process of cutting up the body. Matthews suspects Furman will be denied bond and be held in police custody until the time of a trial.