SC Margit Schuller, 34, military wife,shot dead at laundromat,1 Nov. 1987,* Parabon image*

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Search for murder suspect continues in Beaufort 30 years later

Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office believes composites could crack cold case murder
Sept 17 2019
"BURTON, S.C. (WSAV) – Authorities have released composite sketches of a suspect wanted in a Burton murder that happened more than 30 years ago.

According to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO), on the evening of November 1, 1987, Margit Schuller was washing clothes in the laundromat at Palmetto Apartments where she was shot and killed. She was found by her daughter, who was a child at the time.

BCSO says the unknown subject left behind body fluids, which were submitted in the early 2000s for DNA analysis as a part of Beaufort County Sheriff PJ Tanner’s cold case initiative.

Investigators worked with Parabon Nanolabs to perform phenotyping, which analyzes DNA and determines physical appearance."

 

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Search for murder suspect continues in Beaufort 30 years later
November 3, 2017 rbbm
"Her daughter, a small child, found her. Margit's daughter found her lying outside the laundry mat. It doesn't get any worse than that," Captain Bromage said.

Thirty years ago, Margit was doing laundry one night around 8 p.m. Police don't know why, but they know a man shot her and ran from the scene. Investigators believe the bullet that struck Schuller ricocheted and hit the shooter. A blood trail marked the start of his escape route, but even with his substantial blood loss, nobody was found and no hospital has any trace.

"As far out to Charleston, to Savannah, to Columbia, and there was no record of anybody coming in with a gunshot wound within a 36-48 hour period," Captain Bromage said.

Several months later, a crew was clearing a lot off Highway 21 in Beaufort when they uncovered the murder weapon.

"It was a 22-caliber, semi-automatic pistol, and it had been buried."

The gun was a perfect match to the bullet shell casing outside the laundry room. In 1987, technology only allowed DNA to be tested for blood type. Once modern technology could create a profile, the DNA was resubmitted in 1999, but they can't link the profile to the suspect without a criminal record.

"Whoever the person is, he is not a convicted offender. He has not been arrested for a violent crime in the last few years for him to be compelled to provide a DNA sample. This is John Doe at this point," Captain Bromage said.


Even the murder weapon was dated as far back as the 1940s. Beaufort is a military mecca.


"A lot of people come back from WWII, may have brought it back. It was a French gun."

 

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Here is a video report about the developments in this case:

 

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Three decades after Margit Schuller was shot to death in Beaufort, the identity of her killer remains a mystery, and the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office is asking the public for information.

Shortly after 8 p.m. on Nov. 11, 1987, 34-year-old Schuller was found shot to death in the laundry room at Palmetto Apartments on Harding Street, according to a Sheriff’s Office news release.

Months later, a handgun used in the murder was recovered a few miles from the scene. The owner of the handgun was never identified, as it was a foreign brand and may have been brought to the United States unrecorded, the release said.

In 1999, the blood evidence from the scene was resubmitted to the forensic laboratory for DNA analysis. A profile was developed by the laboratory and submitted to the FBI DNA database, which to this day has yet to return a match, according to the release.

If you have any information about the case, contact Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office Cpt. Bob Bromage at 843-255- 3402 or Crimestoppers at 888-274-6372.

At the time, investigators developed several suspects, but forensic science of the time could not establish any firm link, the release said.

LINK:
https://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/crime/article182163531.html

 

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Bumping for Margit