Clayton News Daily

By Joel Hall

jhall@news-daily.com

A Forest Park man has been arrested by Charleston, S.C., police for allegedly murdering his wife on Christmas morning.

Bobby Sloan, 60, is charged in the shooting death of his wife, Darlene Sloan, 50. The shooting took place in downtown Charleston, where the couple had relatives --320 miles from the Sloans' Governors Drive residence in Forest Park.

According to a police report, at around 2 a.m., on Christmas morning, the Sloans were returning from a nightclub in north Charleston, when the two got into a verbal altercation.

Beatrice Walker, Mrs. Sloan's 80-year-old mother, was a passenger in the vehicle.

When the car arrived at 561 Rutledge Drive, and the passengers were exiting the vehicle, Mr. Sloan allegedly went to the car and removed a .38 caliber, five-shot revolver. He then, allegedly, fired one shot into Mrs. Sloan's head.

Mrs. Sloan, accordng to the report, died on the street while her mother could do nothing but watch.

Charles Francis, a spokesperson for the Charleston Police Department, said Mr. Sloan, who had his 60th birthday only three days earlier, was arrested "at the scene without incident" at approximately 2:15 a.m.

He was charged with murder and possession of a firearm while committing a violent crime.

Calls made to the Sloans' address at 166 Governors Drive in Forest Park went unanswered on Friday.

A report from The Post and Courier in Charleston, said Mr. Sloan is being held at the Charleston County Detention Center.

The killing was the 13th murder in the City of Charleston this year, according to The Post and Courier.