Law enforcement developing possible suspects in double murder

Jasper County Sheriff Archie Dunn said they are still awaiting results of the autopsies and they had little new information about the murder that left Robert Charles Sheldon and his wife Ellen Louise Sheldon, dead, including the possibility that the killer or killers are still in the area.

Dunn said he does not want to release sensitive information or interfere with the investigation, but they are developing possible suspects.

“It’s still going slow,” Dunn said. “We hope to get something earth-shattering today that will help the investigation.”

Although he is not releasing how the couple died, Dunn described the crime as “hate” and “brutal” but not to the point of race or gender.

“From what we saw at the crime scene, in the manner that they were killed,” he said.

Dunn acknowledged they are looking at every possible angle including the possible relation to Robert being a reserve sheriff for the past 25 years.

“We’re just not sure,” said Dunn.

Dunn is aware that rumors are floating around about how they were killed and that the Sheldon’s dog may have also been killed.

“There’s a lot of information out there that did not come from me, so you have to decide if it’s good information or bad information,” Dunn added. “Once again, we don’t want to release too much information that may hamper the case.”

Dunn said they received 50-plus leads Monday and they were investigating every one of them. However, he wouldn’t confirm if they had brought anyone in for questioning.

The bodies of Robert and Ellen were sent to Columbia Sunday, but Dunn has not yet received word when they would have the results of the autopsy.

The Sheldon’s leave behind two sons and two daughters and Dunn said they have been fully cooperative in the investigation.