Man went missing and now another goes to prison for decades, SC prosecutor says
A Columbia man is going to prison for decades after being convicted of murdering another man, according to the Fifth Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
Judge Jocelyn Newman sentenced Eric Donnell Greene to 57 years in a South Carolina Department of Corrections prison, the solicitor’s office said in a news release. On July 17, the 42-year-old Greene was found guilty of murder connected to the death of Morgan Duncan, according to the release.
In December 2023, Duncan was reported missing by the Richland County Sheriff’s Department. Duncan’s family told the sheriff’s department that they had not seen the 27-year-old “vulnerable adult” since November, according to the release.
In February 2024, Greene was charged with Duncan’s murder after a witness reported seeing Greene strangle him, even though the victim’s body had not yet been found, the solicitor’s office said.
A woman was also arrested on a murder charge, but that count and other charges connected to Duncan’s death either were not prosecuted or dismissed, Richland County court records show. Following a trial, she was found not guilty of an accessory after the fact to felony A, B, C or murder charge, according to court records.
It was in June 2024 that Duncan’s remains were found in a creek bed near Parklane Road, close to the apartment where he was last seen alive, the solicitor’s office said.
“At least we are able to give the family the remains so they can have a proper burial,” Sheriff Leon Lott said in 2024. “Telling a mom their child has been killed is one of the hardest things I have to do as sheriff, but being able to find their loved ones give them a little bit of peace.”
There was no word about a motive for the killing, or the day when it happened. Information about Duncan’s cause of death was not available, but the sheriff’s department said that dental records were used to confirm that Duncan’s body had been discovered.
Over a four-day trial, the jury heard testimony from several witnesses, including two who testified they saw Greene strangling the victim in an apartment off Parklane Road, according to the release. Prosecutors presented evidence showing Greene was familiar with the area, the solicitor’s office said.
Senior Assistant Solicitor Kathryn Cavanaugh as well as Assistant Solicitors Nick Fowler and Joe Kreush prosecuted the case for the solicitor’s office. Columbia attorney Jonathan Fox, a public defender, was listed as Greene’s lawyer, court records show.
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This story was originally published July 30, 2025 at 1:43 PM with the headline "Man went missing and now another goes to prison for decades, SC prosecutor says."
