Lancaster grandmother fatally stabbed; husband charged
John Gent
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LANCASTER A Lancaster woman who this month celebrated the birth of her fifth grandchild died on Monday after deputies say her husband stabbed her and left her dead in their bedroom.
Elaine Ghent, 54, died of wounds she suffered from the fatal stabbing, according to a Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office news release. Her husband, John Ghent, is charged with murder.
He was being held Monday evening at the Lancaster County Detention Center awaiting a bond hearing.
Deputies were sent to the Ghents’ house at 2615 Home Place Lane, off Campbell Lakes Road, at about 7:30 a.m. Monday after receiving word that someone had been killed at the house, a release states.
When officers arrived, they found Elaine Ghent dead in the bedroom, deputies said.
Officers also found her husband, John Ghent, who turned 54 on Sunday, on the kitchen floor suffering from injuries after a fight with a family member, the release states. That same family member found Elaine Ghent dead, said Maj. Matt Shaw with the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office.
None of John Ghent’s injuries were life-threatening, Shaw said, and, as of now, deputies do not plan to file charges against the family member in the assault.
Deputies did not release a motive as to why John Ghent allegedly stabbed his wife. “He hasn't had much to say,” Shaw said.
An autopsy on Elaine Ghent’s body is expected Tuesday, said Lancaster County Deputy Coroner Karla Knight Deese.
Elaine Ghent leaves behind a son and daughter and five grandchildren, the youngest just two weeks old, said Nicole Ghent, Elaine Ghent’s daughter-in-law.
“She loved her grandkids,” Nicole Ghent said. “Her grandkids were everything to her.”
Nicole Ghent described her mother-in-law as “one of the most friendliest people you’d ever meet.”
“She’d talk with anyone,” she said. “She was a happy person.”
Elaine Ghent enjoyed going to the beach, her daughter-in-law said, and would travel there with a friend whenever she was not working at Lloyd’s Five Points, a gas station and mini-mart on Camp Creek Road about a mile from her home.
John Ghent’s criminal history includes convictions for driving under the influence, nine counts of writing fraudulent checks, breach of trust and public disorderly conduct, according to records with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
Elaine Ghent’s death is Lancaster's second domestic-related killing this year.
In February, deputies charged Joseph Hilton in the death of his wife, Deborah Hilton, after he called police to report that he shot her because she would not stop talking during an argument.
Two months later, he pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Last month, the Violence Policy Center named South Carolina as the state with the highest ranking of women murdered by men in the country. The state has been included in the top 10 ranking for the past decade.
Safe Passage, a domestic violence shelter with headquarters in Rock Hill that provides services to victims in York, Chester and Lancaster counties, released statistics showing that Lancaster County saw an increase in the number of people victimized in domestic relationships. York and Chester counties also saw increases in domestic violence and family violence victims.
Elaine Ghent, 54, died of wounds she suffered from the fatal stabbing, according to a Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office news release. Her husband, John Ghent, is charged with murder.
He was being held Monday evening at the Lancaster County Detention Center awaiting a bond hearing.
Deputies were sent to the Ghents’ house at 2615 Home Place Lane, off Campbell Lakes Road, at about 7:30 a.m. Monday after receiving word that someone had been killed at the house, a release states.
When officers arrived, they found Elaine Ghent dead in the bedroom, deputies said.
Officers also found her husband, John Ghent, who turned 54 on Sunday, on the kitchen floor suffering from injuries after a fight with a family member, the release states. That same family member found Elaine Ghent dead, said Maj. Matt Shaw with the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office.
None of John Ghent’s injuries were life-threatening, Shaw said, and, as of now, deputies do not plan to file charges against the family member in the assault.
Deputies did not release a motive as to why John Ghent allegedly stabbed his wife. “He hasn't had much to say,” Shaw said.
An autopsy on Elaine Ghent’s body is expected Tuesday, said Lancaster County Deputy Coroner Karla Knight Deese.
Elaine Ghent leaves behind a son and daughter and five grandchildren, the youngest just two weeks old, said Nicole Ghent, Elaine Ghent’s daughter-in-law.
“She loved her grandkids,” Nicole Ghent said. “Her grandkids were everything to her.”
Nicole Ghent described her mother-in-law as “one of the most friendliest people you’d ever meet.”
“She’d talk with anyone,” she said. “She was a happy person.”
Elaine Ghent enjoyed going to the beach, her daughter-in-law said, and would travel there with a friend whenever she was not working at Lloyd’s Five Points, a gas station and mini-mart on Camp Creek Road about a mile from her home.
John Ghent’s criminal history includes convictions for driving under the influence, nine counts of writing fraudulent checks, breach of trust and public disorderly conduct, according to records with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
Elaine Ghent’s death is Lancaster's second domestic-related killing this year.
In February, deputies charged Joseph Hilton in the death of his wife, Deborah Hilton, after he called police to report that he shot her because she would not stop talking during an argument.
Two months later, he pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Last month, the Violence Policy Center named South Carolina as the state with the highest ranking of women murdered by men in the country. The state has been included in the top 10 ranking for the past decade.
Safe Passage, a domestic violence shelter with headquarters in Rock Hill that provides services to victims in York, Chester and Lancaster counties, released statistics showing that Lancaster County saw an increase in the number of people victimized in domestic relationships. York and Chester counties also saw increases in domestic violence and family violence victims.
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