Lancaster, SC juvenile, 14, charged with murder after woman found shot to death
A 14-year-old Lancaster boy has been charged with murder after a woman was shot to death Monday night, officials said.
The victim, Veronica McIlwain, 44, was found shot to death in a home on Quiet Acres Road, said Doug Barfield, a spokesman for the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office.
Detectives charged the juvenile with murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, and possession of a handgun by a person under age 18, according to sheriff’s office and court records.
The juvenile’s name has not been released because of his age.
The relationship between the juvenile and the victim has not been released. Barfield told The Herald on Tuesday that the victim and suspect “were known to each other.”
Pistol recovered in garbage can
A 9mm pistol believed to be the murder weapon was found by investigators in a garbage can in a Lancaster convenience store restroom later Monday, Barfield said.
Deputies declined to release details about how the juvenile was able to possess the gun. It is illegal for anyone under age 18 in South Carolina to possess a handgun.
In a statement, Lancaster County Sheriff Barry Faile said deputies do not have any other suspects.
““We do not believe anybody else was involved,” Faile said. “This is a tragedy for the family and friends of Ms. McIlwain, and our thoughts and prayers are with them.”
When a murder suspect is a juvenile
As of Tuesday afternoon, the suspect is charged in South Carolina Family Court. In Family Court, a person convicted of any crime can only be held in a juvenile prison until age 21.
The suspect is being held at a S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice detention center, pending a Family Court hearing on the murder and weapons charges, officials said.
The 6th Circuit Public Defender’s Office has been assigned to the defense in the case, said William Frick, chief public defender.
“We will represent him,” Frick said.
Generally in South Carolina, a juvenile must appear in Family Court for an initial appearance and detention hearing within 72 hours of arrest. A hearing is expected Thursday in Lancaster County Family Court, Frick said.
It remains unclear whether prosecutors will seek to try to have the juvenile prosecuted as an adult.
In South Carolina, prosecutors have the authority to seek what is called a “waiver” of a juvenile charged with certain violent crimes to prosecute the juvenile as an adult in criminal court.
That would require prosecutors to file court documents with the Family Court seeking a waiver hearing. In that hearing, prosecutors could ask that the juvenile be prosecuted as an adult, state law shows.
The decision to keep a juvenile in Family Court or waive the child up to adult court for trial is made by a Family Court judge.
Efforts to reach prosecutors with the 6th Circuit Solicitor’s office about the case were unsuccessful Tuesday.
