Bessie Durham, 63, worked as a janitor at a South Carolina Belk department store. She went missing last Thursday and her body wasn’t discovered until Monday, according to police cited by WIS-TV.
She was found in a bathroom inside the department store, located in the Columbiana Centre mall in Columbia, S.C. Earlier this year, 12 people were injured during a non-fatal mass shooting event at the mall, according to CBS News.
“For four days, Durham’s body went unnoticed inside a public restroom during a busy shopping weekend,” WIS-TV reported. Locals told the station “there are a lot of questions,” about what happened.
“I was just there yesterday... if I’d gone in the restroom, which I usually do a lot, you know, I don’t know, that’s just terrible,” said one person quoted by the outlet.
Columbia Police Department Deputy Chief Melron Kelly said Durham’s family filed a missing person report for her during the days she was missing. A Facebook photo identified as Durham was included in a Crime Online article.
“We were with the family taking a missing person’s report, and once we were on scene and did a little investigating, we did discover the person deceased at the Belk,” Kelly explained.
According to WIS-TV, Belk also issued a statement about Durham’s death.
“First and foremost, we send our deepest condolences to the family of the housekeeping associate who was employed by KBS, which provides cleaning services at our Columbiana Centre location,” said the statement. “At this time, we are working with KBS to determine the details around what happened. We have also made counselors available to Belk and KBS associates seeking support.”
Police were investigating why no shoppers or staff appeared to notice Durham. WINS-TV said this investigation is in “early stages” and that criminal charges are possible.
“We’re still working with the store to find out what their process is to closing down the store, inspecting the store and things of that nature,” said Kelly.
Thus far, the Lexington County Coroner has said there were no indications of drug use or homicide. An autopsy is scheduled this week that should give investigators a better idea of exactly when she died and her cause of death.
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