Suspect still held on no bond

COLUMBUS — A murder suspect in Polk County is still being held under no bond, with his case continued during district court Monday until May 30.

Jeremy Lynn Bradshaw, 34, of Columbus, appeared in Polk County District Court, where the case was continued. Bradshaw has retained court appointed attorney Tony Dalton to represent him. 

Bradshaw was initially arrested in February after he admitted to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office that he placed the body of Karen Jenkins, 46, in a well on his family’s property in Lynn. Jenkins, of Landrum, had been missing since last November.

Her body was recovered in February, and Bradshaw, who had been in a relationship with Jenkins, was initially charged with concealing a death and obstruction of justice.

Following autopsy results, which determined Jenkins’ cause of death was strangulation, Bradshaw was charged with first-degree murder.

A judge ordered no bond for Bradshaw after the murder charge last month. The suspect is currently being held at the Polk County Jail.

District Attorney Greg Newman said, during a press conference last month about the murder charges, that he will seek the death penalty in the case.

The Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office started the missing person case last year, and contacted the Polk County Sheriff’s Office after it was determined Jenkins was last seen in Polk County.

She and Bradshaw had been in a relationship for a couple of years, with Bradshaw telling authorities she died of an overdose in his Winwood Drive home in Columbus in November.

Newman said he will be requesting a jury trial, and that the case meets the requirements for a death penalty case because of the “atrocious, heinous or cruel behavior.”

Jenkins had five children, ranging in ages from 9 to 25.

Polk County Sheriff’s Office investigators said they believe Jenkins was killed between Nov. 15 and Nov. 17, 2017, and Bradshaw her body in the well shortly after.