Deputies: Fort Mill man charged in ‘gruesome’ beating death burned woman’s body in barrel

A Fort Mill man is charged with kicking and beating a woman to death in their townhome in Fort Mill then burning her body in a barrel in rural Chester County.

John Vincent Coddington, 22, who worked at Harris Teeter, was charged Thursday with the murder of Tiffany Opal Williams, 32, at the townhome they shared in Fort Mill. Deputies in Chester found Williams’ remains burned inside a barrel at a home on Rippling Brooke Drive after York County authorities searched the Fort Mill apartment, said Robert Sprouse, chief deputy for the Chester County Sheriff’s Office.

Chester County Sheriff Alex Underwood described the scene where the remains were found as “gruesome.”

Police were alerted to the crime when two people — including a person who lives at 950 Rippling Brooke Drive in Chester where the burned body was found — went to the Rock Hill Police Department Wednesday to “report a possible homicide in Fort Mill.”

Rock Hill police called York County deputies Wednesday. Detectives searched the home and began an investigation that culminated Thursday with Coddington’s arrest for murder and the finding of the body by Chester police. It is unclear of Coddington confessed, but the arrest warrant states he gave statements to York deputies.

Both Williams and Coddington lived at 930 Azurine Circle in Fort Mill in the normally quiet Waterstone neighborhood, according to a police report.

Coddington was denied bond late Thursday night by Magistrate Stephanie Woods.

Coddington did not say anything about the alleged crime in court when he appeared late Thursday on a charge of murder, where The Herald was the only media organization there. Coddington was wearing a blanket vest normally used for inmates that are deemed a potential threat to themselves.

Police have not yet said what the connection is between the home on Azurine Circle in Fort Mill where the crime is alleged to have taken place and the home on Rippling Brooke Drive in Chester about 30 miles away. However, police reports show that Robert Bickford 27, who lives at the Chester house, was one of two people to report the possible crime.

Police confirmed the body was burned in the barrel when officers from Chester — acting jointly with York County deputies — obtained a search warrant for the Chester home and found the remains.

Police allege Coddington killed Williams by kicking and beating her to death, according to arrest warrants obtained exclusively by The Herald Thursday night after Coddington appeared in court. Police based the arrest on Coddington’s statements to police, witness statements, physical evidence recovered by detectives and other parts of the police investigation, the warrant states.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with Williams’ funeral expenses.

Coddington was denied a public defender because he makes about $14,000 a year at Harris Teeter, above the threshold for eligibility as indigent to receive a free lawyer. Little else is known about Coddington. Online court records show two traffic convictions for Coddington in York County and no record in Chester County.

This is York County’s sixth homicide in 2015.

Check back for updates.

This story was originally published December 10, 2015 at 4:54 PM with the headline "Deputies: Fort Mill man charged in ‘gruesome’ beating death burned woman’s body in barrel."