Aiken County authorities are staying silent about the possible involvement of Cherie Hewitt’s former fiancé in her shooting death early Monday at their Warrenville home.
However, a newly released report says a responding deputy took cover and used a PA system to order Clifford Moseley Jr. to “come outside with your hands up.”
“After a few times announcing this, Clifford appeared out the front door with his hands up,” a sheriff’s report states.
“I don’t have a gun,” Moseley told deputies, holding only a phone.
Deputies responded to the Whaley Street home around 2:30 a.m. Monday for a report of a shooting. After securing Moseley in a patrol vehicle and conducting a sweep of the house, they found the 53-year-old victim.
“We located the female with a gunshot wound … in the living room with a firearm beside her, and another firearm on the ottoman,” the report says. Hewitt was pronounced dead at the scene.
Aiken County Coroner Darryl Ables confirmed Friday that Hewitt died from a gunshot wound to the head. Her death was ruled a homicide, meaning she was killed by another person.
When asked Friday about Moseley’s involvement or what he told investigators, ACSO Staff Sgt. Stephen Shunn said the agency had no comment, as the case remains under investigation. Moseley has not been charged.
Social media posts show the couple together within the last year, and public records confirm Moseley has lived at the Whaley Street residence for many years. It’s unclear the status of their relationship at the time of the shooting.
A Facebook post by Moseley says he became engaged to Hewitt last year. “Couples go through things but how you come together means everything,” he wrote on the post. Other photos show Moseley and Hewitt posing together as far back as 2016.
According to her LinkedIn profile, Hewitt was a pioneer in organic farming and later transitioned to remote work. She described herself as the Southeast’s first USDA-certified organic farmer and spent years mentoring new farmers, selling produce locally, and leading training events.
After stepping back from farming, Hewitt took on a caregiving role, gaining emergency custody of her grandson in 2021 and pausing her career to support him. Authorities said the grandson was not at the home when the shooting occurred.
