Who was Terry Chermak, the SC woman missing for days before she was found dead by gunshot wound?

Terry Chermak loved the Green Bay Packers, Harry Potter and running.

She was such an avid runner, Chermak, who would have turned 50 in December, could outrun her 28-year-old son, Daron Dubose.

“She was an amazing woman, worked hard her whole life,” DuBose said. “I saw her go from bringing me and my brother with her to work at Fashion Bug while living with a friend to owning her own house and having a master’s degree.”

That strength has been a universal recollection expressed since Chermak was found dead in her Laurens home last week. She died 12 days earlier, Sept. 9, of a single gunshot wound, the coroner’s office said.

Her boyfriend, William Loyd Todd Cagle, has been charged with murder and is being held in a Denver, Colorado, jail, awaiting extradition to South Carolina. He was arrested by U.S. Marshals as he walked back to a hotel in Denver on the same day Chermak’s body was found. The couple had previously been reported missing.

A gofundme account managed by her brother-in-law David Bryant said the funds will go toward cremation and other funeral expenses, travel/housing for immediate family, and legal fees. The remainder will go toward the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

Her final Facebook post was sharing the contact information for The National Domestic Violence Hotline — 1-800-799-7233 or text “START” (78278) to Crisis Text Line at 88788.

The Laurens County Sheriff’s Office is not saying much about its investigation or their case against Cagle. What is known about him from public records is he was married before and divorced in 2005 in Greenville County.

He was convicted of assault and battery, high and aggravated nature in 2007 in Spartanburg County and sentenced to a year in prison. He served six months in state custody, after being credited with time served in Spartanburg.

He has multiple traffic violations in Laurens, Spartanburg and Greenville counties, including possession of a controlled substance, driving under the influence, open container and bad checks.

Several debt collection judgments have been issued against him, including $34,659.64 by Absolute Resolutions Investments and $9,993.86 by One Main Financial, court records show. He lost his Greenville County house to foreclosure in 2002.

The gofundme account says, “Terry was often quick to forgive, and her life ended prematurely at the hands of an abuser.” It did not identify anyone by name.

“Terry’s family is devastated by their loss, especially as it has been so abrupt and tragic,” the gofundme account says.

The family plans a celebration of life on Oct. 8. The location will be announced later.

Chermak was a mother to two sons, grandmother to five and sister to two. Her parents live in Massachusetts, where she was born.

Dubose said his mother had three marriages because she had bad taste in men. His brother was born when she was 18.

“We got to see her grow, and I’m glad I did,” he said.

He said she struggled with depression and anxiety but appeared to everyone as a happy person.

“Still would always lend a hand,” he said.

Dubose said he owes thanks to his mother, a voracious reader, for helping him find his favorite series “The Wheel of Time,” a 14-book fantasy series set in both the future and the past.

He has her Nook and is eager to find out what other books she can show him.