Colleton County, SC - A Colleton County mother is brutally gunned down outside her home in Walterboro early Sunday morning. It happened on Briarleaf Circle, that’s about two miles from Highway 17.

She is described as the ideal neighbor and a perfect sister, but now, 42 year old Marlene Linder is gone, shot twice outside her Walterboro home.

“She was an everyday person, the mother of three and a single parent who took care of her kids, living on a fixed income and she did what she had to do to make ends meet,” David Linder, the victim’s brother, said.

Saturday night, Linder hit the town with some friends and family, sadly the last time anyone would see her alive. Linder had returned home at about 3:30 in the morning after she had just dropped off a relative in Smoaks. She got her key in the side door, ready to go inside when the first shot was fired.

Steve Godley and his family live next door, they heard the gunshots and a short time later the found police and emergency teams surrounding the neighborhood. Godley is left to wonder why this woman’s life was cut short.

“She was a good neighbor, she looked out for us and we looked out for her, we if needed anything she was there,” Godley said.

Godley says he told police he heard someone starting a motorcycle or four-wheeler shortly after the gunfire. But so far no arrests have been made. David Linder is hoping police will close this case quickly, so the family and Marlene’s three children can begin to heal.

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