Snapped on Oxygen: Where was Kenneth Coates' decomposing body found?

Kenneth Coates' decomposing body was found in an abandoned house just outside of Conway in South Carolina in January 2001. Two women scouting the location allegedly made the discovery after spotting his foot sticking out of the entryway. He was shot twice, wherein a fatal gunshot wound to the forehead caused his death.

Reportedly, Coates was last seen alive in the early hours of January 6 as he headed home from a local bar. Authorities also learned that at the time, he and his then wife Wanda Haithcock were fighting over assets after their split and that the latter had checked herself into a mental institution after his body was discovered.

Haithcock was arrested after a family member claimed that Haithcock was the last person seen with Coates' vehicle. Moreover, there were .25 caliber bullets in her house, similar to the ones used to shoot the victim. After several delays, she was eventually convicted of murder in November 2003.

Snapped on Oxygen is scheduled to chronicle Kenneth Coates' murder case in an episode titled Wanda Haithcock. The synopsis of the episode, which is set to air on the channel this Thursday, July 6, at 6:00 pm ET, states:

"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 fatal gunshot wound to the forehead caused Kenneth Coates' death a few weeks before his body was found

According to Justia US Law, Kenneth Coates was found shot to death in an abandoned house on Dongola Highway in Horry County, just outside Conway, in South Carolina. Two women reportedly made the discovery while scouting the location on the afternoon of January 24, 2001, and called 911.

Kenneth Coates was found murdered in an abandoned home outside Conway in South Carolina in January 2001 (Image via Oxygen)

First responders arrived at crime scene and found two spent bullet casings near the body. An Oxygen report mentions that Horry County Police Lt. Jamie DeBari said that since it was cold that January, "the decomposition was not that advanced," but it was clear "that he had been there for a while."

The autopsy revealed that Coates had been shot twice, once in the back of the neck and a second time in the forehead. The bullet wound to the forehead was fatal and was finally determined to be the official cause of death. Moreover, his pockets appeared to have been turned out, with the victim's wallet missing.

Kenneth Coates was father-of-one and had been married twice. He was once enlisted in the millitary, where he worked as a combat engineer and was stationed in Germany in the late 60s, before returning to South Carolina, where he started working as a structural engineer.

After divorcing his first wife and the mother of his son Margaret, Coates got hitched to a second woman named Wanda Haithcock, who was also a divorcee. As per his son Kenny, the couple even acquired "a couple pieces of property together." However, in the late 1990s, they started having problems and after eight years of marriage, broke-up in 1999.

---

Kenneth Coates' then-wife Wanda Haithcock, who got admitted to a mental hospital after his body was discovered, was later found guilty

Kenneth Coates' then-wife Wanda Haithcock was convicted in his shooting death (Image via Oxygen)

Oxygen reported that on the evening of January 5, 2001, Kenneth Coates went out with his friend Phil Whittaker for cocktails, pool, and karaoke. The latter claimed that they made a last call at 2:00 am and left the restaurant in another half-hour to head home in their respective cars. That was the last time the victim was seen alive.

While investigating the murder, authorities learned that Coates and Wanda Haithcock had been fighting over their shared assets at the time. They would often argue and that he had started recording the latter's violent outburts. All suspicion fell on Haithcock, who had checked herself into a mental hospital shortly after the body was discovered.

Authorities conducted a search of Haithcock's house and "located a live round of ammunition that was .25 caliber and matched the same brand that was located at the crime scene." Moreover, one of her family members informed police that Kenneth Coates' truck was parked behind her sister's Charleston house because she drove the vehicle there and asked to park it on the property.

Wanda Haithcock was eventually released from the hospital and charged with murder and attempted robbery. Haithcock was tried in October 2003, but the proceeding ended in a hung jury. She was tried again the following months and found guilty of the charges, receiving 30 years in prison without parole.

---

Oxygen's Snapped will further delve into Kenneth Coates's shooting death this Thursday, at 6:00 pm ET.