Body found by SC officers responding to burglary, now man is charged with murder, cops say

Noah Feit
·2 min read
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A South Carolina man was arrested the day after a body was found by law enforcement officers who were investigating a possible burglary, the Aiken Department of Public Safety said Wednesday.

Alexander Boone, a 27-year-old Aiken resident, was charged with murder and first-degree burglary, the department of public safety said in a news release.

Boone was charged with killing Swint Bradberry Jr., according to the release. Bradberry was a well-known jeweler in Aiken who went by the nickname “Porky.”

On Tuesday at about 8 a.m., officers responded to a possible burglary at Bradberry’s home at 915 Brookhaven Drive, the department of public safety said. That’s in Aiken, near Whiskey Road and close to the downtown area.

Bradberry was found dead inside his bedroom, according to Aiken County Coroner Darryl Ables. Bradberry suffered blunt force injuries to the head, Ables said. The death was called a homicide, according to the department of public safety.

After breaking into the home and beating Bradberry to death, Boone left with the victim’s orthotic Velcro shoes and his Members Only jacket that still had Bradberry’s dry cleaning receipt attached, according to an arrest warrant.

There was no word on a motive, and the department of public safety said it’s trying to identify any potential connections between Boone and Bradberry.

Boone is being held at the Aiken County Detention Center, jail records show. There was no word on bond.

In addition to the department of public safety and the coroner, the death continues to be investigated by the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, the 2nd Circuit Solicitor’s Office and the ATF RAGE Task Force.

An autopsy will be conducted Thursday in Newberry, Ables said.

Anyone with information about Bradberry’s death is asked to call the department of public safety at 803-642-7620, CrimeStoppers at 888-CRIME-SC or submit an online tip.

“Information from the community is vital to solving this and any crime,” the department of public safety said in the release.

Bradberry owned the decades-old Porky Bradberry Jewelry Store before selling the business in 2020, the Aiken Standard reported.

In 1982, Bradberry’s wife Linda was shot and killed, the Augusta Chronicle reported. At one point, Bradberry was charged with hiring three men to kill Linda, but prosecutors eventually withdrew the charges, according to the Aiken Standard.