After 14 years, nephew charged in a cold case where a woman was found dead after a fire

Closure is coming to the family of Debra Chisholm nearly 14 years after she was found stabbed to death in the remains of her burned home in 2007. 

Dwayne Taylor, Chisholm's nephew, was charged with first-degree arson and murder, interim police chief George Miller announced Friday.

Taylor, listed in Chisholm's obituary as her nephew, is currently in custody at the Greenville County Detention Center on other charges, Miller said. He was a person of interest in the initial investigation, detective Robert Thacker confirmed.

Recap:What we know about Mauldin resident Debra Chisholm's homicide case from December 2007

The warrants were filed after Miller called the TV show Cold Justice about the lone cold case in Mauldin's files. Show host and former prosecutor Kelly Siegler expects the episode to air sometime in December.

"With their assistance, we put all the pieces together and we're here today to let everyone know Ms. Chisholm's family can now get some closure," Miller said. 

The Cold Justice team arrived last week, Siegler said, after Miller reached out to them in April.

Siegler said the investigation into Chisholm's death was "very good" from the beginning, but it sometimes takes another set of eyes to review details.

"The other good thing about this case was that the victim, she worked for the city so all of her coworkers, her church friends and her girlfriends came from a world of witnesses that was wonderful," Siegler said. "It was just 14 years ago, they were all in their 40s back then, everybody is alive, around and has great memories."

Chisholm was found on Dec. 12, 2007 at her home on Brookbend Drive. The fire was reported just before midnight on Dec. 11.

Who was Debra Chisholm?

Chisholm started her job as a clerk with the city of Greenville in 2001, according to previous Greenville News articles. She was a banker prior to that.

"Everybody described her as the life of the party," Thacker said. "She'd give the shirt off her back to help anybody. She worked hard and had a lot of friends.

"She's missed by a lot of people."

She was quoted in 1999 about her daughter's college ambitions, saying "If I have to, I'll eat Ramen noodles and drink water every day to pay for school."

Her daughter's eyes were on Duke University at the time. The website of the North Carolina healthcare service she founded notes she graduated from Duke in 2004.

Taylor was arrested in August on a variety of charges, including domestic violence and third-degree assault and battery.

— Caitlin Herrington, local reporter and lover of alliteration, covers government and growth in the Golden Strip. Follow her on Twitter @GVLnewsCat.