The daughter of a legendary North Myrtle Beach night club owner was allegedly shot and killed Saturday night by her husband, who was later found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Mariellen Bessent Minor, 41, and her friend Kim Melissa Thrift, 52, were found dead in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Mauldin, South Carolina, where they had reportedly gone to pick up the children Minor shared with her husband, Chris Minor, from whom she was separated, WSPA reported.
A park ranger found Chris Minor’s car Sunday morning at Baker Creek State Park, 80 miles from the crime scene. He was found dead by Lake Thurmond in the park.
Mauldin Police said that the Minors argued, leading to the shooting. The children were still at the apartment when police arrived on the scene, but they did not say if the kids witnessed the shooting. The children are now with family, investigators said.
Mariellen’s father, Harold Bessent, was the founder, with Harold Worley, of the 1980s dance club Fat Harold’s in North Myrtle Beach. Bessent, who is widely credited with helping establish “the shag” as South Carolina’s state dance, died in 2015, WBTW reported.
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[Featured image: Mariellen Bessent Minor/Facebook and Chris Minor/Crimestoppers of Greenville]
