Richland County, SC (WLTX) – The Richland County Coroner’s office has identified the woman that deputies say was killed at a home in Northeast Columbia Thursday.

Coroner Gary Watts says the victim is 26-year-old Almanita L. Smith.

Smith was found dead outside her home on Heron Glen Drive in the Lake Shore subdivision around 7 a.m. Monday.  According to Watts, it appears the woman had been dead for several days before she was placed in the front yard.

An exact cause of death hasn’t been released, but Watts says the death appears to be an act of homicidal violence.

Deputies have arrested her boyfriend and charged him with murder in connection with her death.

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott says the story and explanation that her boyfriend is offering is inconsistent with the forensic and investigative evidence that has been recovered. He also classifies it as a case of domestic violence.