PICKENS COUNTY — Two people remain jailed in connection with the Feb. 21 murder of a Townville woman whose body was found at a boat ramp at Saluda Lake.
Mary Joann Kelley, 30, of 134 Latham St. in Easley, has been charged with two counts of accessory after the fact, one for murder and the second for grand larceny. She remained in jail on Monday afternoon. Bond was set at $15,000 surety and $10,000 surety on the two charges, respectively.
Chief Deputy Creed Hashe said Kelley was in the company of Kasey Clayton Waldrop when he was taken into custody at a Greenville apartment complex on Feb. 22. Waldrop’s last known address was 220 Waverly Drive in Greenville.
The body of Reza Farah Kahn was found Feb. 21 by two men who were at the Combined Utilities boat ramp on Saluda Lake to put their boat in to go fishing. A witness statement places a single shot around 3:30 a.m. Feb 21. It is believed Kahn was shot at the boat ramp.
Waldrop was charged with murder, grand larceny and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. Waldrop was also been charged with possession of a weapon by a felon in Greenville County plus he was out on bond from Pickens County following a 2015 arrest for grand larceny. He was awaiting trial on that charge.
A bond hearing was waived by the Public Defender’s Office and Waldrop was transported back to Greenville County where he will remain in custody pending his release for Greenville charges.
According to Hashe, Waldrop returned to the apartment complex where PCSO detectives had responded following a report Kahn’s missing vehicle had been located. Waldrop and Kelley were in the vehicle with a third party they determined to be without any knowledge of the events of the night of Feb. 21.
“Following Waldrop’s arrest we interviewed (Kelley) thoroughly and it became clear pretty quickly she had knowledge of the crime. Through cell phone data, text messages and calls, we coordinated the time of day on them and things began to match up,” Hashe said. “Search warrants were served and we found evidence she had knowledge after the fact. At this point there is no indication she had any knowledge prior to Miss Kahn’s murder, but she had knowledge within just a few hours and conspired to cover it up.”
When located, Kahn’s car had been spraypainted in an attempt to hide the vehicle from authorities and, according to Hashe, Kelley was involved in the attempt with Waldrop.
