Case of 2 charged in death of boy on Hilton Head among trials on tap in 2015
Several high-profile cases in Beaufort County are expected to reach trial in 2015, according to 14th Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone.
The cases include the trials of the final two defendants in the 2012 murder of Khalil Singleton, and a man charged with murder in the death of well-known Pritchardville resident Melanie Lowther in 2013, Stone said.
Here's a rundown of some of the cases awaiting trial in Beaufort County or involving Beaufort County residents:
MURDER OF KHALIL SINGLETON
A father and son charged with murder and later attempted murder in the September 2012 death of 8-year-old Khalil Singleton are expected to face trial in the first half of 2015, Stone said.
Aaron Young Sr. and Aaron Young Jr. were scheduled to be tried for murder in April 2014, about 18 months after Singleton was shot outside his grandmother's Allen Road home on Hilton Head Island.
The Youngs and Tyrone Robinson, who was also charged with murder in Singleton's death, were all going to be tried together in April, but a judge postponed the trial after new evidence -- recorded interviews with the Youngs -- surfaced.
The trials for Robinson and the Youngs were separated soon after the evidence surfaced. Robinson, whom eyewitnesses identified as the shooter, was convicted of murder in September and sentenced to life in prison.
Attorneys for the Youngs asked for a delay through February after the two men were indicted in November on charges of attempted murder.
PRITCHARDVILLE MURDER
Walter Glass, charged with the murder of Pritchardville resident Melanie Lowther in July 2013, is expected to reach trial in the second half of 2015, Stone said. Glass was previously expected to face trial last year.
He was charged with murder, second-degree burglary and armed robbery hours after Lowther's body was discovered in her Barefoot Alley home.
According to Sheriff's Office reports, Glass struck Lowther, 60, over the head with a nail remover after she found him burglarizing her home. Glass was arrested in a camper that Lowther and her husband had loaned him to live in.
He has been in the Beaufort County Detention Center since his arrest and was denied bond shortly after Lowther's murder.
MURDER OF POLLY ANN MITCHELL
A Charleston County man charged in the murder of 70-year-old Bluffton resident Polly Ann Mitchell is also expected to go to trial in the second half of 2015, Stone said.
Jerry Manigault was arrested in Bluffton on May 16, four days after Mitchell's body was found in her Buck Island Road home. Manigault has also been charged in the murder of 77-year-old Julia Mudgett of Hollywood, who was killed six days before Mitchell died. He was seen driving Mudgett's Hyundai sedan in the days after her death; it was later found underwater near a Ridgeland boat landing.
Manigault waived his right to a bond hearing in Beaufort County in July and is being held in the Charleston County jail. He will be tried separately for each murder.
MURDER OF CESAR REYNA-REYNA
A man charged with the murder of Hilton Head Island teenager Cesar Reyna-Reyna in December 2012 is expected to face trial in the second half of 2015, Stone said.
Ja'quard Qu'vonte Aiken was charged in January 2013 in the shooting death of 19-year-old Reyna-Reyna outside his Marshland Road home. The shotgun used to kill Reyna-Reyna was found in the woods the day after the shooting, and forensic evidence later linked the shotgun back to Aiken. Aiken was released on bond a few weeks after his arrest, despite objections of the Solicitor's Office.
THANKSGIVING DEATH
One of the oldest pending trials in the county involves Richard Santee, who was expected to be tried last year for attempted murder in the death of his nephew in 2010. But his trial was delayed in November to allow for more preparation. Santee is now expected to face trial in the first half of 2015, Stone said.
According to Beaufort County Sheriff's Office reports, Santee shot James Piotrowski, 42, three times after an argument around midnight Thanksgiving Day 2010 in Santee's Brays Island home. Piotrowski was also shot a fourth time and fatally wounded by a Brays Island security guard after he witnessed a wounded Piotrowski shoot Santee. The guard was not charged in Piotrowski's death.
Santee was charged the following March with attempted murder and has since moved to North Carolina.
Follow reporter Matt McNab at twitter.com/IPBG_Matt.
Related content:
- Men accused in death of boy, 8, on Hilton Head indicted on lesser charges , Nov. 15, 2014
- Man confesses to Pritchardville murder case, investigator says , Aug. 30, 2013
- Man accused in Bluffton woman's death waives bond hearing , July 7, 2014
- Bond set for man charged with murder on Hilton Head , Jan. 13, 2013
This story was originally published February 15, 2015 at 9:58 PM.