Columbia — Richland County sheriff’s deputies made a second arrest today in the murder of Nikki McPhatter.
Kendra D. Goodman, 27, was charged with accessory after the fact. A sheriff’s spokesman labeled her an acquaintance of Theodore Manning IV, who is charged with killing McPhatter.
Also today, Manning’s public defender told a judge his client waived his right to a bond hearing. Manning was not present in the Richland County courtroom, but several of McPhatter’s friends and family members were.
“We’re going to follow this case to the end,” Tera Zahra-El, who worked with McPhatter at US Airways, said after the brief hearing. “We were there in the beginning, and we’ll be there at the end.”
Manning , 29, is accused of fatally shooting McPhatter in his Richland County home on May 6. McPhatter, who lived in Charlotte, had gone to Columbia to end a relationship with Manning, her friends have said.
Quoting a captain in the Richland County sheriff’s office, the State newspaper reported today on its Web site that Manning has confessed to the killing, first saying it was an accident, but later admitting to firing a pistol after he and McPhatter quarreled.
Investigators last week found the skeletal remains of an African-American woman believed to be McPhatter in a remote part of Fairfield County. The victim had been shot in the head and her body was found in the trunk of McPhatter’s black Honda Accord, which had been burned.
Police have not said publicly what role they believe Goodman, the second suspect, played in McPhatter’s death.
Fran Eddings, who also worked with McPhatter at US Airways, traveled to the bond hearing with several other of McPhatter’s friends. She said she normally opposes the death penalty but would support execution in this case if Manning is found guilty.
“I’ll be satisfied when the day comes and they say, “Guilty,” and say what the penalty will be,” she said.
Meanwhile, a spokeswoman in the Richland County courthouse today confirmed that Manning last August was charged with criminal domestic violence. She said courthouse files contained no details because the case had not reach trial.
