Charleston County detective: Slaying suspect waited near truck for girlfriend to step outside

A Johns Island man accused of killing his girlfriend a week ago waited outside in his truck until she came out of the house, then shot her to death as she tried to get into her car, according to a detective’s affidavit released today.

One of the slain woman’s daughters heard her mother cry for help, came out of the house and saw the killer holding the shotgun before he took off, according to the affidavit.

Timothy James Wright, 34, is charged with murder in the death of Melinda Ford, 37, outside the house where they lived on Betsy Kerrison Parkway.

He showed up for his first court appearance today, after spending a week in the hospital after the shooting.

A magistrate can’t set bail on a murder charge. Magistrate Priscilla Baldwin set Wright’s bail at $100,000 on a charge of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.

Charleston County Sheriff’s Office deputies were called to Ford’s house about 6:30 p.m. Feb. 16 to check out a reported shooting.

They found Ford dead in the backyard from a shotgun wound to the chest, according to the incident report and affidavit.

Witnesses told deputies Wright took off in a white Nissan pickup truck.

They spotted the truck and tried to stop it, and Wright kept driving, according to the incident report.

He drove through a baseball field and a fence before wrecking the truck and taking off on foot. He surrendered to deputies about 1 a.m. after a manhunt and was taken to a hospital for treatment of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Read more in tomorrow’s edition of The Post and Courier.