Sumter man charged with beating girlfriend to death
SUMTER — A 72-year-old Sumter man has been arrested and accused of beating his girlfriend to death.
Sumter County sheriff’s deputies say they were called to a home Tuesday evening and found the body of 54-year-old Joanne Smiley of Sumter.
Coroner Harvin Bullock says Smiley was beaten with a baseball bat.
Willie Pressley was arrested and charged with killing the woman.
He’s being held in the Sumter-Lee regional jail. It was not clear if he has an attorney.
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