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Authorities in upstate South Carolina have arrested the 19-year-old grandson of a retired couple found slain in their home earlier this month, charging him with two counts of murder in a case that has shaken a small rural community.
The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office said Levi Kevin Jones was taken into custody late Friday and charged in connection with the deaths of Larry Moore, 76, and Sandra Moore, 75, who were discovered inside their residence on Cromer Moore Road near Westminster on Jan. 15.
Jones is also charged with two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, according to arrest warrants obtained by Fox News Digital. He remains in custody pending a bond hearing.
The couple was found after a family member requested a welfare check when repeated attempts to reach them were unsuccessful. Investigators and the county coroner later determined the deaths were homicides.
RETIRED SOUTH CAROLINA COUPLE FOUND DEAD IN HOMICIDE AT HOME
Larry and Sandra Moore are pictured during a church gathering at Calvary Church. The couple was later remembered by the congregation following their deaths. (Calvary Church Facebook)
According to the Oconee County Coroner’s Office, Larry Moore died from multiple stabbing injuries, while Sandra Moore died from manual strangulation. Autopsies were conducted the following day.
Arrest warrants allege Jones stabbed his grandfather multiple times in the torso and neck and strangled his grandmother, cutting off her airway and blood flow. Authorities said a knife was used during the attack.
Authorities have not provided a motive for the attack.
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The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office said the couple’s grandson, Levi Kevin Jones, is charged with two counts of murder in the case, as well as two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. (Oconee County Sheriff’s Office)
The Moores were longtime residents of the area and well known in the community as the former owners of Moore & Moore Fish Camp, a local restaurant that operated for decades before the couple retired.
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They were also active members of Calvary Church, where friends described them as regular attendees.
“They were always there,” Stacy Brooks, who attended church, told Fox News Digital. “You expected to see them every time you went. They were faithful people.”
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The Oconee County Coroner’s Office, which assisted in the investigation into the deaths of Larry and Sandra Moore, is shown in an exterior view. (Oconee County Coroner’s Office)
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Brooks said the killings have been difficult for residents of the small Upstate South Carolina town to process.
“This is a close community, and something like this just doesn’t happen often,” she said.
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The sheriff’s office previously said the killings appeared to be an isolated incident and that there was no ongoing threat to the public.