South Carolina Woman’s Body Goes Unnoticed In Department Store Bathroom For Days

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In South Carolina, a woman was found dead in the bathroom of a department store after going unnoticed for four days.

Bessie Durham, 63, was found dead inside the store’s family bathroom after 8 p.m. on Monday, Fox 57 reported.

Housekeeping and cleaning services at the department store were provided by an outside company Durham worked for.

According to surveillance footage at the store, the woman entered the bathroom area at approximately 7 a.m. on Thursday, four days before her body was discovered. There was no sign of her leaving the area.

Durham’s family filed a missing persons complaint with Columbia police on Monday.

South Carolina District 80 Rep. Jermaine Johnson said he felt bad for Durham, her family, and everyone involved.

“Right now I feel so bad for this woman who had to die alone in a bathroom stall somewhere, just doing her job to survive,” Johnson said.

In a tweet, the representative also urged people to invest in themselves and stop letting jobs kill them, saying Durham’s death should serve as a wakeup call.

On Thursday, Fox 57 obtained a coroner’s report stating Durham died from natural causes.

Belk released the following statement to the media on Thursday:

“First and foremost, we send our deepest condolences to the family of Bessie Durham, who was found inside a family restroom at our Columbiana Centre location. Ms. Durham provided housekeeping services through her employer, an outside contractor company that provides cleaning services for the store. We are actively working to piece together what happened. Meanwhile, we have also made counselors available to associates seeking support.”

For more on this story, please consider these sources:

  1. Woman was dead in South Carolina department store for four days before her body was found, police say – USA Today
  2. Lexington coroner releases new details regarding woman who died in Belk restroom – WLTX
  3. Funeral arrangements made for woman found dead in Columbiana Centre Belk bathroom – WLOS
  4. Missing South Carolina Woman Found Dead In Shopping Mall Bathroom – BE