It's hard to believe this case has gone cold.
On the afternoon of May 3rd, Amber was seen running errands in N. Myrtle Beach. She had to be at work at 4:00 PM.
At 4:30PM, she was found next to her car that was still running. The car was on Old Sanders Rd. under the Robert Edge Overpass just West of the Inter Coastal Waterway. She was deceased having suffered two very hard blows to her head with a hard object but there were defensive wounds on her arms that suggested that she had been under attack before the two fatal blows were given. The was no indication of sexual assault. All indications suggested that this assault occurred within minutes of her being found. There were no witnesses or forensic leads to identify her attacker.
Old Sanders Rd. is a rural road that provides access to a few homes and businesses in the area but it otherwise does not go anywhere and would not be on the way to anywhere else. There is no indication that Amber had any reason to go to any of those homes or businesses and there was definitely no way that Amber might have been using that road to get to anywhere else. Old Sanders Road does provide access to some cleared areas where a vehicle could pull off the road and not be seen by anyone in any buildings in the area. It might provide a little privacy where a couple could be alone and undisturbed.
The is one such spot a few hundred yards south of where her car was found. Her car was pointed North.
The car appeared to have just pulled of the road under the overpass. Law Enforcement has speculated that a "fight" started between Amber and a passenger in the front seat while they were driving or just after she pulled off but the fatal blows were issued outside of the car, perhaps while she was trying to escape. The assailant most likely made his or her escape on foot up to the Robert Edge Parkway.
The overall picture suggest that sometime that afternoon Amber met someone she knew well enough to allow that person to enter her vehicle. She did not meet this person on Old Sanders because she would have no reason to be there but it would appear they drove to Old Sanders. Since there is no other obvious reason to go there, it is very likely they went there for a chance for some privacy. There is no indication that Amber engaged in consensual sex or had disrobed in any way. Most likely they were just talking.
Amber was due at work at 4:00 yet it appears that she did not resume driving until after 4:00. Her employer reported that it would be extremely unusual for her to be late for work.
Inference of what happened is pretty clear. She went to Old Sanders Rd. to discuss some serious matter with someone she knew. What they were discussing was either so important that she was willing to be late for work or she was to afraid to leave. When she finally did leave, after 4:00, things became violent very fast. The other person was clearly able to overpower her and inflict two very had blows to her head. There is no direct evidence that this other person was male, but all indications are that he was.
When a man murders a woman he knows soon after she makes it known that she is marrying another man, it is almost certainly a situation of jealousy or anger over rejection. The is absolutely no reason to believe she had any dispute over drugs, money or anything else that could have resulted in this.
It is almost a dead certainty that the perpetrator had recently been in a relationship with Amber or at least imagined himself in one. Amber had many friends who must be aware of the men in her life. The police must have contacted everyone who could fit the profile. I am willing to bet they know who did it. But no charges filed, no arrests and no release of information. Presumably they don't have a strong enough evidence to prosecute.
Perhaps it is time to start releasing a little information and get something going?
