When she was three years old, Silene Eaddy went to live with a foster family. When she turned five, Brenda McCoy and her husband adopted Silene, and Silene had two siblings, Eugene and Destiny. Silene, who family and friends call Erica, was active in the ROTC program and was interested in art, music, and writing. Silene was a well-dressed 15-year-old who always kept her hair done. While in high school, her adoptive father passed away due to a heart attack, and Silene began acting out. Silene was a student at Alston-Wilkes Youth Services School after being referred there from Dreher High School. Silene “oozed confidence” her neighbor, Yamilka Deliz told The State News.
“She had a wonderful spirit about her, but she was just searching for something,” Deirdre Wheeler, a family friend, said to The State News.
On Thursday, April 15, 2004, 15-year-old Silene left her Columbia, South Carolina home at 716 Fountain Lake Road that she shared with her family and headed around the corner to a neighbor's house. Silene left home alone on foot between 7:00 pm and 7:30 pm. Silene never returned.
On April 17, 2004, around 5:00 am, firefighters, were called to a small brush fire off Highway 378 near Montgomery Lane and Pincushion Road in Southern Richland County. While putting the fire out, they discovered the severely beaten and burned body of a teenage girl lying face down in the brush. Authorities identified the body as 15-year-old Silene Eaddy through dental records and a necklace she wore. They discovered soot in her lungs, causing investigators to believe she was alive when she was set on fire.
There have been no suspects named in the brutal murder of Silene Eaddy, and no suspects have been named in her case.
Sadly, on April 30, 2020, Brenda McCoy passed away at Providence Hospital without knowing who was responsible for the brutal murder of her daughter.
If you have any information regarding the murder of Silene Eaddy, please contact 1-888-CRIME SC.
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