Woman rejected ex, who then beat and stabbed her in ambush, SC prosecutor says
A South Carolina man was sentenced to decades behind bars following a vicious attack on his ex-girlfriend, where she was stabbed multiple times and beaten with a baton, according to the 5th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
On July 31, Terence Stukes was convicted on attempted murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime charges for his role in the domestic violence-related assault, the solicitor’s office said Wednesday in a news release.
After being found guilty by a Richland County jury following a four-day trial, the 40-year-old Bishopville resident was sentenced to 25 years in a South Carolina Department of Corrections prison, according to the release. Judge Milton Kimpson sentenced Stukes to 20 years for the attempted murder conviction, and another 5 years on a consecutive sentence for the weapons conviction, the Solicitor’s Office said.
On the evening of May 21, 2023, Stukes attacked the victim after she rejected his attempt to rekindle their romantic relationship earlier that day, according to the release.
Stukes ambushed the victim as she was walking through her driveway to pick up her children from her neighbor’s house, the Solicitor’s Office said. Wearing a ski mask, Stukes beat her with a baton and stabbed her multiple times with a tactical knife, according to the release.
During the attack, the victim pulled up the ski mask and revealed Stukes’ identity, the Solicitor’s Office said.
The victim’s child, at the neighbor’s house, heard her screams for help and alerted the neighbor, who tried to intervene, according to the release. Stukes confronted the neighbor with the knife before running away, according to the Solicitor’s Office.
No other injuries were reported.
The victim suffered “nearly fatal stab wounds,” but survived and identified Stukes as her attacker, the Solicitor’s Office said. She gave a detailed description of the knife, and eyewitnesses identified Stukes as the attacker, according to the release.
Current information on the victim’s condition and recovery was not available.
Three days later, Richland County Sheriff’s Department deputies arrested Stukes, and found the knife in his pants pocket with red stains on the blade, the Solicitor’s Office said. The baton used in the attack was recovered from the victim’s yard, according to the release.
On May 24, 2023, Stukes was booked into the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, where he remained until his conviction as no bond was set, Richland County court records show.
In addition to the counts he was convicted on, Stukes was also charged with domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature, violation of an order of protection, unlawful carrying of a pistol and stalking when he was arrested, according to court records. Those additional charges were not prosecuted, court records show.
The sheriff’s department led the investigation, while Assistant Solicitor Stephanie Taylor, Deputy Solicitor Anna Browder and Assistant Solicitor Morgan Monroe prosecuted the case for the Solicitor’s Office. Columbia attorney Jennifer Davis, a public defender, was listed as Stukes’ lawyer, according to court records.
This is not the first time that Stukes was arrested in Richland County. In separate arrests in March and April of 2021, he was charged with stalking and later pleaded guilty to counts of second-degree harassment, court records show.
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This story was originally published August 6, 2025 at 1:52 PM with the headline "Woman rejected ex, who then beat and stabbed her in ambush, SC prosecutor says."
