Witness reports man on fire in dark and autopsy reveals it was homicide, SC cops say

UPDATE: Juan Veneroso Lopez, 38, of Columbia, has been charged with murder in connection with the death Lazaro Angel Castillo, the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office says. “Lopez came to Greenville, where he confronted Lazaro-Castillo over a domestic-related dispute and killed him using blunt force trauma. Lopez then poured flammable liquid on the victim and set him on fire,” officials said.

The original story is below.

The discovery of a man on fire in a South Carolina residential neighborhood is a case of homicide, according to investigators in the Upstate.

It happened Sunday, Sept. 1, in west Greenville, and the victim has been identified as 29-year-old Angel Lazaro-Castillo of Greenville, according to the Greenville County Coroner’s Office.

His body was found “outside, next to the road,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release. Greenville is about a 100-mile drive northwest from Columbia.

“Deputies received the 911 call just after 11 p.m. regarding a person that was possibly on fire and upon arrival discovered the adult-aged male body had been burned,” the sheriff’s office said.

An autopsy has revealed he died of “blunt force trauma of the head” and it has been ruled a case of homicide, according to the coroner’s office.

“There is no suspect information at this time,” the sheriff’s office says.

The body was found near the intersection of N. 6th Street and Woodside Avenue, which is a largely residential area, maps show. Lazaro-Castillo lived about one and a half miles southwest of where his body was found, officials say.

This story was originally published September 2, 2024 at 5:03 AM with the headline "Witness reports man on fire in dark and autopsy reveals it was homicide, SC cops say."