September 7, 2018
FCSO ARRESTS FATHER OF CHILD ALLEGEDLY LEFT IN VEHICLE
SUBJECT: Brandon Scott Coward, age 36, of 1246 Via Ponticello, Florence, SC 29501 was arrested by FCSO Investigators on September 6, 2018 and charged with Homicide By Child Abuse (S.C. Code Ann. 16-03-085(A)(1(B)(1)).
NARRATIVE: At approximately 5:39 PM yesterday Deputies with the Florence County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call of an unresponsive child at 1246 Via Ponticello in Florence, SC. Upon the arrival of deputies at the scene, the 7 month old victim had been transported to an area hospital where he was later pronounced dead. Florence County Coroner Keith Von Lutcken has identified the infant as Dean Emerson Coward and also ordered an autopsy be performed at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, SC.
The father of the infant, Brandon Scott Coward has been charged with Homicide by Child Abuse. According to Investigators, Coward is alleged to have left the infant in a hot vehicle for an extended length of time. Coward will be held at the Florence County Detention Center pending a bond hearing before a Circuit Court judge.
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Major Michael M. Nunn
General Counsel/P.I.O.
