Man charged in murder of missing Summerville woman

The Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that a body found in a neighborhood ditch is Deborah Kessler.

The body was found near Old Orangeburg Road in Summerville and partially covered by debris. According to the Dorchester County Coroner, Kessler died from asphyxiation due to strangulation.

Thirty-nine year old David C. Marsh has been arrested and charged with murder in the case.

Deborah Kessler’s mother described her youngest daughter as outgoing and friendly.

Her family is now having to cope with her tragic death three weeks after she was reported missing.

Her boyfriend told police she left her apartment on Orangeburg Road around five a.m. December third.  He says she walked less than a mile to this home in Kensington Park to pick up money from a man named David Marsh—the man now charged with her death.

Neighbors say marsh rented a room at the house.  In the missing persons report, Kessler’s boyfriend says she called him to let him know she arrived, but she never came home.

Dorchester County Deputies and her family asked for help to find her, but three weeks later—somebody found Kessler’s body wrapped in a sheet in a ditch just a few feet away from the home where she was last seen. 

News two spoke with Kessler’s mother the night before her daughter’s body was found.

“It’s a big world I know, this is somebody people love and care about,” said Anne Kessler.

Now the family has to live with their worst fear, knowing their daughter will never return home.