November 21, 2009

AIKEN Co, S.C. -- A man has been arrested in the death of a Warrenville man whose body was discovered Friday, the Aiken County Sheriff's Office said.

Pete Joel Williams, 32, from Graniteville was arrested Friday evening and he is now charged with murder, burglary and armed robbery, according to a news release from Sgt. Dave Myers.

John Barrs was found dead in his Warrenville home by a caretaker around 8:30 Friday morning. The coroner later said the cause of death was injuries from blunt force trauma to the head.

Williams is now at the Aiken County Detention Center.

John Lowe, a distant cousin of Barrs still can't believe his longtime friend and family member is gone, he said.

"It hurts," he said. "I felt bad because I have almost known him for twenty years."

Lowe has known Barrs since he was a little boy, and Barrs has always been there for him, giving him toys to play with, recording movies for him and much more, he said.

"There were times he would even let me borrow money to buy something even though I didn't need it," Lowe said.

Barrs is now gone though, while his alleged killer, Williams is in the Aiken County Detention Center. Warrants show he confessed to killing bars, hitting him over the head several times with a blunt object.

"It makes me feel better about it," Lowe said. "But still not 100 percent happy."

Lowe is also unhappy because he said Williams knew Barrs and apparently use to live with him. By Williams living with Barrs he knew how bad of condition the 68-year-old man was in.

"He just didn't look good," Lowe said about Barrs. "I was hoping he would get better."

Investigators believe the motive could've been robbery, and the only thing missing from the home was cash.