Murder suspected in death of man found tied up in Jackson home

JACKSON, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - Authorities are investigating a Jackson man’s death as a murder after his body was found tied up and decomposing in his home.

Word of this comes after the Aiken County Coroner’s Office on Monday released his name: 61-year-old Eldon W. Ledford.

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Ledford’s body was discovered just after 5 p.m. Nov. 14 when officers went by the home in the 1100 block of Third Street to check on his well-being.

The home appeared to be ransacked, with burned documents found in the kitchen. The body was discovered in the living room behind a small door covered by a couch.

Jackson Police Chief Kevin Liles said the body was unrecognizable and could’ve been there decomposing for three to four weeks.

Liles says it wasn’t the first time his agency had responded to the home.

An incident report states that police conducted a well-being check on Oct. 20 after the home’s resident hadn’t been seen or heard from for several days.

Police arrived at a scene that almost mirrors what they responded to Nov. 14.

The home’s side door was blocked by a chair. Inside the home, drawers had been pulled out of the dressers and cupboards.

Authorities did not observe any sign of struggle or any items of alarm, but they did not find Ledford there.

Ledford had been offered a position at Fresh Market but was not yet an employee, News 12 has learned. He came in to take a meat-cutting test but never finished all of his paperwork.

He never came back, and they got worried and called him but he never answered.

Anyone with any information about the case is urged to the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office at 803-642-1761.