Inset: Penni Whiteside (Facebook). Background: Sheridan Dirk Fogle testifies during his trial for killing Whiteside in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (WMBF).
A South Carolina man will spend the rest of his days behind bars for killing his girlfriend and burying her body under a firepit, where it remained for about two years.
Sheridan Dirk Fogle, 56, was convicted of murder on Thursday and sentenced to life in prison for the death of 51-year-old Penni Whiteside. Authorities say Fogle killed Whiteside in March or April 2022. Her body was recovered at Fogle”s Myrtle Beach home in June 2024.
Local ABC affiliate WPDE obtained an arrest warrant saying the investigation began when Fogle told neighbors he buried “something” in the backyard and became “territorial of the area” when people approached the firepit.
Investigators obtained a search warrant for the property and excavated the firepit area, where they uncovered a wooden box with remains later identified as Whiteside. She had been strangled to death.
At trial, prosecutors played video of Fogle’s interview with police after his arrest, in which he claimed Whiteside “came at him” with a knife, according to a courtroom report from local NBC affiliate WMBF.
“I grabbed her by the throat, she hit the floor … by the time it was over, I panicked, I didn’t know what else to do,” he is heard telling police on the video.
The defendant said he “got high” after killing her.
“Then I put her in the box, and I kept the box in the house for like two days … it took me like three days to get all that done,” he said.
The box was custom-built for Fogle by his grandfather as a keepsake.
Fogle told police Whiteside’s body was still in the home when another man spent the night and the two discussed becoming roommates.
“I was still trying to act like everything was normal,” Fogle said in the video. “I didn’t know what to do with this body in my [expletive] bedroom.”
During his trial, Fogle took the stand in his own defense.
“I get angry, and I snap … and I say things that I don’t normally do,” he testified, per WPDE. “I lost it…I was in fear for my life.”
But during cross-examination, prosecutor Nancy Livesay asked how he could claim self-defense if he snapped.
“That’s different than self-defense, right?” Livesay asked.
Fogle continued to stick with his story.
“I wouldn’t say that at all. I was trying to defend myself, and I blacked out, period,” Fogle responded.
Whiteside’s brother reported her missing in May 2022 and cops interviewed Fogle. He claimed that Whiteside left on her own.
“When you told police she said she was coming back for her stuff, that wasn’t true, was it?” Livesay asked.
“No ma’am,” Fogle replied.
The defendant claimed he had “carried” the burden of killing Whiteside for two years, and finally came clean because “it was time for it to come over.”
Livesay noted that he appeared to move on with his life.
“During the two years you struggled with this, while Penni was facedown in that box … you had remarried and moved to Orangeburg and started a new life. Is that correct?” she pressed.
“Yes,” Fogle said.
Fogle had a history of domestic violence against Whiteside, including an arrest not long before she went missing, The Myrtle Beach Sun News reported. Police responded to their apartment in November 2021 after he allegedly punched her in the chest, causing her to fall down, according to The Myrtle Beach Sun News. About a month later, he reportedly stole her credit and debit cards.
