Robert Odell Waters
Robert Odell Waters, 53, died at the Beaufort County Detention Center in South Carolina on May 6, 2023. Records show he had moved to South Carolina, started a family and owned a plumbing business with his wife. Corrections officers found him unresponsive in his cell during a routine check, and Beaufort County officials said the death was a suicide, while the State Law Enforcement Division investigates. A later report said Michigan State Police cited investigators in South Carolina who reportedly saw nothing suspicious, but that the official finding was waiting on the autopsy and review of jail video.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide. Beaufort County officials ruled the death a suicide in a news release, and a Michigan State Police detective, citing South Carolina investigators, said he died from self-inflicted injuries.
Reported by: Beaufort County officials (the agency that held him); Michigan State Police Detective Sgt. Todd Petersen (outside investigators).
News reports (7)
- Authorities: Suspect in 1988 murder found dead in Beaufort County jail cell
- Three Rivers cold case murder suspect dies in South Carolina jail
- Suspect in cold case murder of Three Rivers woman dies in jail
- Man recently arrested in 1988 cold case found dead in Beaufort Co. jail
- UPDATE: MI police identify inmate found dead in Beaufort Co. cell as 1988 murder suspect
- Man recently arrested in 1988 cold case found dead in South Carolina jail
- Police share new details in Three Rivers 1988 cold case murder