BEAUFORT — On the first day of November 1987, Margit Schuller left her 12-year-old in their apartment to do some laundry. Thirty minutes later, her daughter, curious about what was keeping her mother so long, went off in search of her.

She found her mother under a tree in a pool of blood. Police were called and the 34-year-old married mother was declared dead on the scene. She had been shot to death, and investigators determined that she had likely been sexually assaulted.

For 38 years, Schuller’s murderer has walked free. As of Nov. 18, her accused killer is finally behind bars.

Cortez Sabino Lake, 76, of Beaufort, is charged with the crime. News of Lake’s arrest was shared during a Nov. 19 press conference held by the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.

Advances in DNA analysis over ne

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