Koshun Hightower, 47, a Black man, was found dead inside a room at the Economy Inn on Rivers Avenue in North Charleston, South Carolina, on Monday, May 23, 2022. Police were dispatched to the motel at 5020 Rivers Ave. around 1:45 p.m. after a report of a deceased person, and an incident report described him as having an apparent gunshot wound. EMS determined he was dead at the scene, and the case was immediately treated as a homicide as investigators began working the motel property and the
surrounding area for answers.
As word spread, the Charleston County Coroner’s Office publicly identified Hightower as the victim, stating he died at approximately 1:30 p.m. on May 23 from a gunshot wound. Early updates left the story suspended in uncertainty—police acknowledged the death as a homicide investigation and, as of Tuesday, May 24, reported that no arrests had been made while detectives continued to chase leads tied to what happened inside that motel room.
Within days, investigators announced a break. On Thursday, May 26, North Charleston police arrested Corey White, 42, alleging he was responsible for the killing at the Economy Inn. White was booked and charged with murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, transforming the case from an open-ended search into a prosecution centered on a single suspect.
Additional reporting indicated the arrest involved coordination beyond the local department, with U.S. Marshals assisting North Charleston officers in taking White into custody on May 26. Beyond the filing of charges, publicly available reporting in these accounts did not lay out a detailed motive or narrative of what preceded the gunfire, leaving the final moments before Hightower was found in that motel room largely described through the official timeline—discovery, confirmation of death, identification by the coroner, and the rapid shift to an arrest and formal charges.
