A 21-year-old Liberty man is now accused of sexually assaulting and killing an 89-year-old woman who was found dead in her home on Easter Sunday.

Liberty police arrested Thomas James Chapman on Monday and charged him with murder, first-degree criminal sexual conduct, high and aggravated assault and battery, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, simple larceny and two counts of first-degree burglary, according to arrest warrants.

During a press conference Tuesday, Liberty Police Chief Adam Gilstrap said Chapman broke into Margaret Alice Karr's Liberty Mills Avenue home late Saturday, sexually assaulted her, choked her, and stole less than $2,000 in cash before fleeing. Chapman then returned to the residence early Sunday morning, Gilstrap said, and slit Karr's throat with a knife, killing her.

Previously:SLED investigating 89-year-old woman's death in Liberty

The Liberty Police Department, the Pickens County Sheriff's Office and the State Law Enforcement Division were involved in the investigation.

Pickens County Sheriff Rick Clark was emotional as he took the podium Tuesday afternoon. He'd known Karr since he was a child and played with her children in the neighborhood where she lived and died.

Karr was a beloved member of the community, Clark said, who supported him when he ran for Liberty City Council, and again when he gave up his seat to run for sheriff.

"Everybody loved her because she was a great christian lady and she showed it every day," he said. "A situation like this stuns a community."

Clark said that after discovering Karr's body, officers began canvassing her neighborhood. While conducting the sweep, they interviewed Chapman, who lives just down the road from Karr.

"Our detectives came up on somebody who had the hair on his neck coming up," Clark said. "That's good, great work by all of our detectives."

Conor Hughes is a public safety reporter with The Greenville News. Contact him via email at chughes@gannett.com or on Twitter @ConorJHughes.