PAGELAND, SC — A 22-year-old man is facing charges after officials say he posted threatening comments on social media aimed at an investigator with the Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Office.
State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) agents have charged Cavish Alton McManus with threatening the life, person or family of a public officer. Officials say McManus posted the threatening comments on social media after watching a documentary about the 2011 murder of Hope Melton on May 2.
The official referenced in McManus’s post was part of the investigation into her murder.
According to officials, McManus, a friend of the suspect charged in Melton’s murder, posted that the investigator would be the next person found in a pond.
The Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Office says they asked SLED to handle the investigation, which resulted in McManus’ arrest on Tuesday.
“Chesterfield County as a whole was shaken by the senseless murder of Hope Melton around Christmas in 2011, and officers from this department, especially the investigators, worked tirelessly to bring her assailant to justice as quickly as possible,” says Chesterfield County Sheriff Jay Brooks. “It’s disheartening that the officers would now fall under verbal attacks in relation to the case, but I think SLED for handling the matter in a timely and professional manner and showing that threats against law enforcement officers, on social media or otherwise, will not be tolerated.”
Nickolas Miller was the suspect charged in Melton’s murder. He pleaded guilty to rape and murder charges in 2015, and was sentenced to life in prison.
