Husband, wife charged in death of South Carolina woman

'She just graduated from college and was working down to the VA hospital.'

Dec 4, 2020

A Black couple out of South Carolina have been charged with the murder of a woman who went missing late last month.

Jennifer Grant, a recent college graduate who disappeared on Nov. 20, was reportedly the girlfriend of 65-year-old Curtis Smith, her accused killer. According to PEOPLE, Grant and Curtis had an argument at his apartment, during which he allegedly stabbed her with a kitchen knife after Grant hit him with a trophy and bit his hands.

The fight was over Curtis’ refusal to leave his wife, Antolene Smith, 45, according to the report.

According to police affidavits, Antolene Smith confessed to police on what happened to Jennifer Grant, who was reported missing before her body was found in North Charleston.https://t.co/HCDY5M5ubi
— ABC News 4 (@ABCNews4) December 3, 2020

Smith reportedly helped her husband depose of Grant’s lifeless body by dumping her near the abandoned train tracks across from Curtis’ backyard.

On Tuesday, the North Charleston Police Department found Grant inside of a recycling container. They found the murder weapon (a knife) in a vacant lot nearby. On Wednesday, police arrested the couple and charged Curtis with murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, according to the report. Antolene has been charged with accessory after the fact to felony. She is being held on a $50,000 bond.

Curtis is being held without bond at the Al Cannon Detention Center.

Antolene allegedly told investigators that her husband stabbed Grant to death during a fight sometime between Nov. 20 and Nov. 25.

An autopsy confirmed Grant’s death was a homicide caused by sharp-force injury.

“She had a big future ahead of her,” Grant’s cousin, Lasonya Epps, told WCSC. “She just graduated from college and she was working down to the VA hospital.”

Eva Grant, the victim’s mother, said she “ would just like to know if she had any last words or did she suffer? “Did she call for her mom?”

Terralyn Sheppard, another one of Grant’s cousins, told WCSC “she had a heart of gold” and that people gravitated to her because of her spirit and how loving she was.

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