Chesterfield County prepares for rare inquest

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The Chesterfield County coroner is calling a rare inquest into the death of a man that was initially ruled a suicide.

Darlington County Coroner Todd Hardee is presiding over the hearing Thursday where six county residents are hearing testimony about how 34-year-old Tyson “Lane” Lowery ended up dead from a gunshot wound to his head and a pistol nearby in the front yard of his home in November.

The deputy coroner and the sheriff’s office determined Lowery’s death was a suicide. But Kiser decided to hold the inquest to settle any lingering questions.

Only a few coroner’s inquests are conducted each year in South Carolina. This is the first inquest Kiser has called in his four years as Chesterfield County coroner.