Crime & Safety
Roommate Charged With Hiram Woman's Murder
BREAKING: Beth Bishop Harris, 39, was found dead in her home on Hiram Sudie Road on Tuesday morning.
HIRAM, GA — A man who was renting a room in the home of a Hiram mother of three now stands accused of her murder.
Derek Jess Renfroe, 32, was charged Wednesday with malice murder, aggravated assault, first-degree arson and tampering with evidence in the death of 39-year-old Beth Harris. Law enforcement had identified Renfroe as a "person of interest" after Harris's death was discovered Tuesday morning.
At about 8:56 a.m. Wednesday, a motorist called 911 in Paulding County, saying a person resembling Renfroe, had been spotted in the area of Mulberry Rock Road.
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Deputies responding to the area found a man matching Renfroe's description and confirmed that it was, in fact, him. According to sheriff's office spokesman Sgt. Ashley Henson, Renfroe "was cooperative and complied with all commands that the deputies gave him."
Renfroe voluntarily came to the sheriff's office and spoke with detectives and other agents in reference to Harris's death. He was charged with the crimes hours later and is being held at Paulding County Jail.
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On Tuesday, at about 5:49 a.m., the Paulding County Sheriff's Office was called to 4408 Hiram Sudie Rd. Once there, they found the body of a woman identified as Harris.
The sheriff's office has not released a cause of death, saying that "because of the condition of the scene, the manner of death will have to be determined at a later time."
Detectives on the scene spoke to Harris's husband, 36-year-old Charles Harris, who Henson said called 911 and has cooperated with investigators. Renfroe, according to investigators, had been renting a room in the couple's home.
According to what appears to be Harris's Facebook page, she had worked as a crew trainer at Krystal restaurant and as a stay-at-home mom to three children. She went to Rockmart High School and was originally from Aragorn, GA, according to her profile on the page.
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Photo courtesy Paulding County Sheriff's Office
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