3rd suspect guilty for role in York SC ‘heart attack homicide’ from Christmas 2020
An Illinois woman who was part of a home invasion that left a York County woman dead from a heart attack on Christmas Day 2020 has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.
The guilty plea and sentencing of Virginia Darlene Ratcliffe, 33, on Thursday ends the case with all three suspects convicted and sent to prison for a combined 85 years.
Sarah Childers, 72, and her husband, Billy Childers, 75, were beaten and tied up in the Christmas Day 2020 home invasion and robbery in the western York County town of Hickory Grove, 16th Circuit Senior Solicitor Matt Shelton said.
Sarah Childers died days later after suffering a heart attack, Shelton said. Shelton described it in court as “a homicide by heart attack.”
“This is one of the most mean-spirited, needless crimes I have seen in my 30 years in law enforcement,” York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson told The Herald Thursday after Ratcliffe, the last suspect, pleaded guilty. “We pray that the Childers family can finally begin to move forward.”
Ratcliffe pleaded guilty Thursday to strong armed robbery, burglary and conspiracy in a negotiated plea and 15-year sentence, according to prosecutors and court records.
Jackie Ray Childers Jr., the victims’ nephew, was sentenced to 30 years in prison in February after pleading guilty to manslaughter and other crimes. Travis Randell Baxter was sentenced to 40 years after pleading guilty in January to manslaughter and other crimes.
After Ratcliffe’s arrest, she gave crucial evidence and statements to deputies and prosecutors that made it possible to prosecute Jackie Childers and Baxter, Shelton said.
“She provided substantial cooperation and was willing to testify against her co-defendants if need be,” Shelton said Thursday after court.
The three suspects pulled off the robbery after using Ratcliffe to claim her car had broken down, Shelton said. Jackie Childers Jr. and Baxter attacked the two victims, tied them up, and stole from their home, deputies and prosecutors said.
The case went unsolved for about a month before the three suspects were found in other states and arrested. The FBI assisted York County Sheriff’s Office deputies in the case.
Prosecutors and Tolson praised detectives and federal agents whom they described as relentless in investigating the home invasion, and then arresting all three involved.
This story was originally published March 17, 2022 at 4:11 PM.
