York, SC man pleads guilty after 7 years, ending York County’s oldest homicide case
A South Carolina man who had been in jail for almost seven years, pending trial after a York County woman was fatally stabbed in 2015, has pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, records show.
Steven Tyler Benfield, 42, was sentenced to 15 years in prison Monday after a plea agreement between prosecutors and Benfield, testimony showed. Benfield had been charged in the death of Jessica Pitman Stewart. A trial had been scheduled to start Monday but Benfield pleaded guilty before the trial started.
Stewart, 30, was found dead on Benfield’s property in rural York County west of Clover in August 2015, court records show.
Benfield was charged with murder after the killing and had been in jail for almost seven years waiting for trial after he denied involvement in the death, court documents show.
Guilty plea, but no admission
Benfield pleaded guilty under what is called an Alford plea, testimony showed. In an Alford plea, a defendant pleads guilty because of evidence against him that could possibly mean a conviction if there was a trial, but the defendant does not have to admit guilt.
Visiting Judge Derham Cole of Spartanburg said in court that an Alford plea is a guilty plea under the law, and sentencing for an Alford plea is the same as any guilty plea.
Benfield said in court Monday he stands by the decision to plead guilty and accept the punishment. His lawyer, Creighton Hayes, said Benfield was in jail 2,373 days waiting for court.
Hayes said the sentence of 15 years was negotiated with prosecutors.
Voluntary manslaughter in South Carolina carries a sentence of two to 30 years.
Case was oldest pending in York County
The court case against Benfield was the oldest pending homicide case in York County where a defendant was awaiting trial, officials said.
Benfield had been in the York County jail since August 2015 without bail. Benfield’s case was prepared for trial on the murder charge at different times, but he fired two lawyers before the case went to court, according to testimony, court records and officials. Each time meant the next lawyer needed more time to prepare to defend Benfield.
Another time before a trial was set, an expert DNA witness died, prosecutors said. Then there was a trial shutdown for about a year from 2020 to 2021 during the COVID pandemic.
The case had other problems, prosecutors said. Two sheriff’s deputies involved with the case died between the time of arrest and court.
In court Monday, some family members and friends of the victim said they were unhappy with the 15-year sentence and the plea agreement.
The plea offer of 15 years was on the table for years but pulled by prosecutors about two weeks ago as the case neared trial, 16th Circuit Deputy Solicitor John Anthony said in court Monday. However, there was a communication mistake about the plea offer concerning Benfield being told about the offer expiring. So prosecutors believed it was right to honor the plea offer, Anthony said in court.
This story was originally published February 7, 2022 at 11:54 AM.
