Man Who Killed Girlfriend Still At Large

From the Effingham Herald:

Authorities are looking for a person of interest in the homicide of a Rincon woman.

Rincon Police officers were called to a home on Rahn Street on Friday morning after friends had not heard from a woman who lived there for two days. Inside, they found the body of a woman. She has been identified as Linda Shaffer, 60.

“We had a friend who had been calling the last couple of days and she hadn’t been answering the phone,” Rincon Police Chief Mike Bohannon said. “Preliminary investigation indicates it’s a homicide. We have a person of interest identified.”

The Rincon Police Department and the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office are looking for Chris Todd Lawery, 45, of Guyton, who is believed to have been the woman’s boyfriend. Lowery may be driving a gray 2004 Pontiac Grand Am with Georgia tag DP1CT0. He also may be armed and dangerous.

Authorities have not released how the woman was killed and were in the process of notifying the next of kin.

Bohannon said Lawery may have a history of mental illness.

“If you see this individual, notify your local law enforcement. Do not try to approach this person,” Bohannon said. “He’s a person of interest at this time. But due to the violence here, we don’t know his mindset.”

Anyone with information on Lawery’s whereabouts can call the Rincon Police Department at 826-5200 or the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office at 754-3449. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Shaffer family.