Mugshot, details released for suspect charged in 1987 Beaufort cold case

BEAUFORT COUNTY, S.C. (WTOC) - The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office is sharing new details on Wednesday about an arrest in the shooting death of 34-year-old Margit Schuller that occurred on the evening of November 1, 1987.

WTOC attended a press conference where the Sheriff’s Office delivered more information on this case.

Officials state that all the original persons of interest in the case were eliminated over time by DNA comparisons.

In 2019, DNA evidence was sent to Parabon Nanolabs for advanced analysis and employed the assistance of a Cold Case Committee volunteer to research potential biological connections, “an investigative technique known as genetic genealogy.”

Through advanced DNA analysis, Parabon Nanolabs developed composite sketches showing how the suspect may have looked at ages 25 and 55, officials say.

“Through countless hours of research, the Cold Case Committee volunteer deduced the offender was likely 76-year-old Cortez Sabino Lake of Beaufort.”

Investigators obtained Lake’s DNA during an interview, and subsequent analysis matched that DNA to the DNA found at the scene.

Officials say Lake lived in the same apartment complex as Schuller at the time of her murder and also served as a Navy Corpsman with Schuller’s husband; however, the husband told investigators he wasn’t familiar with Lake.

After serving in the Navy, investigators say that Lake was a respiratory therapist at Beaufort Memorial for 30-plus years before his retirement.

Lake was served with an arrest warrant for murder and taken into custody on Tuesday, November 18, 2025.

Investigators say that if anyone has additional info about Lake that could help in the investigation, they are being asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office.

He says that new information could potentially lead to additional charges against Lake or even help solve other cases.

Lake is currently being held in the Beaufort County Detention Center; a circuit judge will determine his bond.