She was murdered, and her body found somewhere down a dirt road toward Sumter, off of the highway between Wedgefield and old Manchester. The daughter of a state senator, the murder was highly sensational in the media. She underwent a forensic autopsy at MUSC in Charleston, S. C.

Donald Henry "Peewee" Gaskins, Jr. later confessed & explained why he killed Peg in his autobiography, Final Truth. However, at least one case investigator told me in 2016 that Peewee was a complete, lifetime liar and that he did not at all believe Peewee's confession. Sumter native, Dr. Ervin Shaw, was involved with the autopsy along with Dr. C. L. Garret and Dr. Joel Sexton. I. Byrd Parnell was the county sheriff and Howard Parnell was coroner. But, serial killer William "Junior" Pierce confessed & was convicted of murdering her.

Fourteen year old Peg was reported missing on Dec. 18 and her body was found on Dec. 30. Pierce reportedly confessed to a Sheriff "Red" Carter (in another state), who allegedly coerced the confession. Maggott evidence obtained from the corpse was analyzed by an etymologist at Clemson U. From this, it was thought that she had been killed shortly after missing. But, there was some conflict about the estimated date of death. Mrs. Carrie Baker Lenoir (widow of S. G. Lenoir), post-mistress at the little Lenoir Store & post-office in Horatio, S. C. was certain she'd seen Peg on the afternoon of Dec. 19. The county coroner joined the opposition. By the 1990s, some thought it likely that Pierce would be acquitted if he could get a retrial, but getting a retrial did not happen. New technology raised the possibility of DNA testing, but it is said that the authorities contended that Hurricane Hugo destroyed the biological evidence in 1989.

A front page write-up was in The State newspaper of 12/31/1970.