Breakthrough announced in half-century old cold case

A breakthrough announced in an Upstate cold murder case from nearly a half-century ago.

Greenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis announced an identification in the case of a body discovered in a potter’s grave near Highway 20 and Blakely Road nearly 50 years ago in 1975.

The victim was found marked with a sign that read “Mr. X”.
He was found to have died from blunt force trauma to the head and strangulation, and his body was found wrapped in a sheet and smoldering, meaning it had likely been set on fire.

Through cooperation with the White Planes Police Department, the victim has now been identified as Oscar James Nedd of White Plains, New York.

Sheriff Lewis said Nedd is believed to have been killed in New York and that his body was then brought to South Carolina.

He explained that the progress in the case came after seeing the case highlighted in a  podcast. This led to the sheriff’s office reopening the case in order to use modern technology to attempt to finally solve it.

The case is currently being investigated as a homicide, and anyone with information is asked to call the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office via Crime Stoppers of Greenville at 23-CRIME.