Jury in Chester SC finds man not guilty in Great Falls murder case from 2020
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A man charged by South Carolina law enforcement officials of a fatal shooting in Great Falls in 2020 has been found not guilty, according to court records and lawyers in the case.
Kenneth Xavier Redfern Jr., 27, was found not guilty after a four-day trial at the Chester County Courthouse in the death of Martimothy McIlwain, records show.
McIlwain, 33, was fatally shot in September 2020 outside a nightclub, officials said.
The jury issued its verdict late Friday.
Sixth Circuit Deputy Solicitor Candice Lively, the prosecutor in the case investigated by the Chester County Sheriff’s Office, confirmed Redfern was found not guilty.
The jury unanimously agreed to acquit Redfern on the murder charge, said Redfern’s lawyer, Montrio Belton of Rock Hill.
“Mr. Redfern has always proclaimed his innocence,” Belton said Monday.
The jury system, which is the foundation of the American judicial system, worked in this case, Belton said. However, a young African-American man was killed and the victim’s family lost a loved one, Belton said.
Redfern, of Baltimore, Md., was not released from custody after the trial, records show. He was charged by Chester sheriff deputies in a second homicide in Chester County in June 2020. That second case remains pending in Chester County criminal court and no trial date has been set.
