According to an arrest warrant from the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office, 38-year-old Herbert Wood Heath Jr., of Washington, was arrested on Tuesday. He is charged with murder in the death of 62-year-old Mildred Hawkins Heath, who family friends say is the suspect's mother.
Barbara Chauncey, Heath's neighbor and friend, said she wasn't surprised to hear about the arrest. "I happened to see her son in the yard and said, 'Are you okay?' Then I said, 'Where's your mom?'" said Chauncey. "That was really stopped at that." Chauncey says Herbert Heath yelled profanities at her.
Mildred Heath was found dead inside her burning home on the 5600 block of Cherry Run Road, about 11 miles northwest of Washington, on Saturday.
