Name released for Aiken County slain man whose body was burned

Remembering the victims: CSRA slaying surge’s toll surpasses 60

AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - The Aiken County Coroner’s Office on Tuesday released the name of a homicide victim whose body was found in a burned vehicle

The body was found around 10 a.m. July 28 in a burned vehicle on Boggy Gut Road, approximately a mile off Williston Road.

Due to the extent of the thermal injuries, the race or sex of the victim could not be immediately determined, according to Aiken County Coroner Darryl Ables.

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After an autopsy, Ables said Tuesday that DNA testing helped identify the victim as 33-year-old Freddie Powell III, of Aiken.

The cause of death was “homicidal violence,” Ables said.

The Aiken County Sheriff’s Office is continuing with the investigation.

The slaying is among dozens that have claimed more than 60 lives since spring, affecting communities large and small on both sides of the Savannah River. Authorities have blamed much of the problem on gangs, and many of the victims have been young men and teenagers.