Military burial blocked due to killings

The burial planned Monday for a former Marine in a national cemetery was postponed after cemetery officials learned he was apparently in a double murder-suicide.

Robert Herring, 44, dropped three of his stepchildren off at school on Oct. 30, then returned home and shot their mother, 34-year-old Leslie Arangilan, and her daughter, 17-year-old Jade Arangilan, and killed himself, police said.

Herring's burial was scheduled for noon Monday at Beaufort National Cemetery, but rules governing military burials say a person convicted of a capital crime — or who has evaded conviction by death or escape — is not eligible for burial at a veterans' cemetery, said director Bernie Bowse.

He said he postponed the burial on Sunday after learning of the circumstances of Herring's death.

"We've put the burial on hold, just so that our regional council can confirm the facts of the case," Bowse said. He said he expected a final decision Tuesday on whether Herring can be buried at Beaufort.

About 225 people attended a funeral service for Herring on Sunday, according to Walker Posey, funeral director at the Stephen D. Posey Funeral Home in North Augusta.

Herring's obituary did not say how long he served in the military.