A South Carolina man, 35-year-old Donnie Ray Birchfield, Jr., is accused of keeping four different people captive in his basement for years. He allegedly controlled their every movement, which tragically led to one of his victims dying.
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According to The Post and Courier, citing police warrants, the investigation began back on July 25. At the time, Lancaster Police Department officers responded to a Churchill Drive residence after receiving a report of an “unattended death.”
Investigators determined that the victim, a woman, unnamed, had died a day before. However, according to court documents, evidence showed that she had been physically abused, denied appropriate sustenance, and lacked medical treatment.
The investigation determined that, alongside the dead woman, three other people were being held captive in the house’s basement.
Authorities alleged that the deceased woman was being held at the residence alongside her husband. Birchfield was their only caregiver, police said, and both of them were described as vulnerable adults.
Four Victims
Furthermore, two other people, women, with whom Birchfield was romantically involved, had been held captive for years, police said. One of the women had been in the house since September 2024. Shockingly, the other was allegedly being held captive since 2015.
Warrants obtained by the outlet alleged that all four victims were frequently strangled, with Birchfield completely controlling their eating, or lack thereof, as well as their cell phone use, preventing them from calling for help.
The 35-year-old also allegedly used the married couple’s cards to make Walmart purchases since 2021. A police incident report detailed that the 32 purchases were only meant for Birchfield, not for his alleged victims. Furthermore, he is also accused of using the couple’s money to pay close to $12,000 in debts.
Birchfield allegedly threatened to kill one of his victims, even saying that he had experience disposing of a human body.
As reported by Law & Crime, citing the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office, Donnie Ray Birchfield, Jr., was charged with four counts of false imprisonment, four counts of exploitation of a vulnerable adult, two counts of abuse of a vulnerable adult, two counts of domestic violence, and four counts of financial fraud.
If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, you can reach the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233. You can also chat with a representative at thehotline.org​ or by texting “START” to 88788.