State Briefs

Goonetilleke

GREENWOOD, S.C. — An autopsy was scheduled Thursday on a man killed at a Greenwood home.

Greenwood County Coroner Jim Coursey said the death of Corey Fuller, 34, is being investigated as a homicide.

‘‘I will not know for sure the cause of death until the autopsy has been completed,’’ Coursey said. ‘‘I know that shots were fired, but I cannot, at this time, say that the shooting was the cause of death.’’

Michael Rodney Pope, 36, was arrested and charged with a weapons violation in relation to the incident, said Greenwood County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mike Frederick.

Historic

Morris Island for sale

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Historic Morris Island, where black troops of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment charged to glory during the Civil War, is for sale and an ad has even been posted on eBay.

Last year Harry Huffman, who owns development rights to the island, ran into opposition trying to get zoning approval for 20 homes on 125 acres of high ground.

The island was where the 54th Massachusetts mounted an 1863 attack against Confederate defenses at Battery Wagner, a battle recounted in the movie ‘‘Glory.’’

The asking price for the property advertised as Cummings Point is $12.5 million. The tract is being marketed for one large home, not a development project.

House panel approves

environmental crime grand jury bill

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Companies that dump chemicals or do other damage to the environment could face faster prosecution under a bill that cleared a House Judiciary subcommittee on Thursday.

The legislation gives the state attorney general authority to use grand juries to investigate those crimes and bring charges.

The grand jury powers will force companies to open records and their managers to testify, Attorney General Henry McMaster said.

‘‘We can move quickly and we will move quickly’’ with prosecutions, McMaster said.

Sisters raise funds for tsunami

victims at Converse College opera

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Tharanga Goonetilleke has sung a lead role in Converse College’s annual opera nearly every year since arriving at the all-women’s school in the Upstate four years ago. This year the Sri Lanka native and her younger sister, Eranga, anticipate more than audience applause.

Since a tsunami struck their country, killing more than 30,000 people, the sisters have raised about $8,000 for care of refugees who have fled destroyed towns to the sisters’ home church, St. Mary’s Ratmalana. The death toll for the 11 Asian and African countries struck by the tsunami has reached more than 157,000.

‘‘It didn’t come into Ratmalana,’’ Tharanga Goonetilleke said. ‘‘We’re close enough to the shore but somehow it just didn’t get there.’’

The sisters hope to raise more money for tsunami victims this weekend when the university’s opera theater presents ‘‘La Boheme,’’ probably the most popularly known opera by the Italian composer Giacomo Puccini. Opera director and producer Ron Boudreaux said it’s amazing the university boasts one accomplished singer, let alone two, from a small country like Sri Lanka.