MOUNT PLEASANT — A 43-year-old Mount Pleasant man was strangled outside his home in June because he owed money to an escort service, according to court records.

Robert M. Weir of Palmetto Hall Boulevard was found by a neighbor about 6:40 a.m. June 21, lying facedown in the grass next to the driveway of his Dunes West home. There was a half-empty bottle of bourbon whiskey several inches from his arm, according to a Mount Pleasant police incident report. The neighbor told police he had last seen Weir drinking whiskey on his porch about 11 p.m. the night before.

Homicides are rare in Mount Pleasant. Many a year will go by without a single one.

Until this weekend, authorities had not given the media any indication that foul play was suspected in Weir’s death. Police completed a “probable natural death” form the day Weir’s body was found, according to the initial incident report.

News that Weir’s death was considered a homicide emerged this weekend, when police announced the arrests of two people in connection with his slaying.

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