4 key details to know

On January 24, 2001, a mystery unfurled when the body of Kenneth Coates, a father-of-one and former combat engineer, was found in an abandoned house just outside Conway in South Carolina. He was shot twice and apparently died weeks before his body was found with a fatal gunshot wound to the forehead.

A subsequent investigation revealed that Coates and his then-wife Wanda Haithcock had split up and were fighting over shared assets at the time. Moreover, the former was last seen alive by a friend earlier that month and then disappeared until the discovery was made.

Other incriminating evidence suggested the involvement of Haithcock, who had checked herself into a mental hospital shortly after Coates body was discovered. More than three years later, she was eventually found guilty.

This Tuesday, July 6, Oxygen's Snapped will chronicle Kenneth Coates' tragic death, detailing shocking revelations from the murder investigation and how a killer was brought to justice. The episode, titled Wanda Haithcock, airs on the channel at 6 pm ET.

Here's a look at the official synopsis of the episode:

"When the body of a beloved father is discovered in a South Carolina home, detectives uncover a toxic love affair that had deadly consequences."

A shocking discovery, a valuable tip, and a guilty verdict, among other details from the Kenneth Coates murder case

1) Kenneth Coates' body was decomposing at a slower pace at the time of the discovery

Kenneth Coates was a former combat engineer and a father-of-one (Image via Dung Thùy/YouTube)

According to Justia US Law, Coates' body was discovered by two women on the afternoon of January 24, 2001, in an abandoned house on Dongola Highway in Horry County just outside of Conway in South Carolina. Another report mentions that they spotted a foot sticking out of the entryway and initially "thought it was a scarecrow," before realizing that it looked to real and could "be a dead body."

Oxygen reported that, as per Horry County Police Lt. Jamie DeBari's statements, that January, "it had been cold, so the decomposition was not that advanced." However, it was evident "that he had been there for a while."

The same report mentioned that former crime scene technician Anne Pitts described the victim as "a male, white, middle-aged, probably in his 40s to late 50s." Pitts further stated that they noticed some kind of an injury on the deceased's forehead even before moving the body. He was eventually identified as Kenneth Coates.

2) The victim was shot twice and died of the bullet that struck him in the forehead

The 53-year-old died of a fatal gunshot wound to the forehead (Image via Oxygen)

An autopsy revealed that Kenneth Coates was shot twice, once in the back of the next and a second time to the left side of his forehead. At the scene, authorities found two .25 caliber spent bullet casings. The gunshot wound to the forehead was determined to be the cause of his death. Moreover, after the body was discovered in the abandoned house, his identity was confirmed using dentures.

As per the Justia US Law report, an expert speculated that Coates was sitting upright when he received the first shot to the back of his neck, following which he collapsed on the ground. He was then shot in the forehead as he lay on the floor. The autopsy also estimated that the 53-year-old had been dead for more than four days or a few weeks.

3) He was last seen alive in the early hours on January 6, 2001, by a close friend

He was last seen live in the early morning hours of January 6, 2001 (Image via Dung Thùy/YouTube)

Kenneth Coates reportedly met a close friend, Phil Whittaker, for cocktails, pool, and karaoke on the evening of January 5, 2001. The two stayed out until the early morning hours of the following day and visited a couple of places before arriving at a restaurant and leaving the establishment at 2:30 am on January 6. From there, he headed home in his car. That was the last time Coates' friend saw him alive.

Whittaker claimed he called Coates the following day, but the latter never returned his calls. Moreover, the 53-year-old never showed up at work after January 5. His employer, Mike Owens, claimed that Coates never failed to show up for work without any explanation and that this was not his typical behavior.

4) Suspicion fell on Coates' then-wife, Wanda Haithcock, who checked herself into a mental hospital

Wanda Haithcock was the victim's second wife and was married to him for eight years until their break-up in 1999 (Image via Oxygen)

The suspicion fell on Kenneth Coates' then-wife, Wanda Haithcock, given that the couple were having problems for a while, had split up, and were allegedly fighting over shared assets at the time. Strangely enough, she checked herself into a mental hospital shortly after his body was discovered.

Authorities believed Haithcock was the last person to have seen Coates alive that night and was likely behind the killing. They searched her home and found a live round of .25 caliber ammunition which matched the ones found near the body. Moreover, her sister claimed that she drove the victim's vehicle to her Charleston house and asked to park it on the property.

As per Oxygen, Wanda Haithcock was eventually charged with murder and attempted robbery. However, she kept delaying the trial by using her mental illness as an excuse to evade justice. She eventually stood trial in October 2003, which ended in a hung jury, after which she was tried again the following month. This time, Haithcock was found guilty and sentenced to 30 years in prison without the possibility of parole.

Learn more about Kenneth Coates' case in this Tuesday's episode of Snapped on Oxygen.

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