Man lured wife to secluded orchard, killed her in front of kids, SC prosecutor says
A South Carolina man is going to prison for life after he committed a “brutal and calculated crime,” when he killed his wife in front of her two small children, the 11th Circuit Solicitor’s Office said.
On July 3, 2019, Michael Tirrell Means, 39, lured his wife, 46-year-old Yumonica Pate Means, to a secluded area near a peach orchard in Edgefield County where he shot her in the head, the solicitor’s office said in a news release Friday.
It was about 1:30 a.m. when law enforcement officers learned about the shooting after getting a 911 call from a 10-year-old child asking for help, according to the release.
Responding officers found Yumonica Means’ body in the road at the intersection of Highway 191 and Yonce Pond Road near Johnston. That’s about 7 miles from Strom Thurmond High School.
Prosecutors said Tirrell Means lured Yumonica from her home in Aiken County under the ruse that he had been involved in a car accident. Means sent text messages to his wife’s phone, beginning at 11:38 p.m., claiming he needed her to meet him at the location, according to the release.
Ultimately, it was determined that Tirrell Means had not been involved in an accident, and according to testimony, when Yumonica arrived he confronted her about an ongoing marital dispute.
Tirrell Means then shot Yumonica while she was outside of her vehicle, the release says. Her two young children were present at the scene, according to the release.
Yumonica was shot in the head and immediately died, a forensic autopsy showed.
The gun Tirrell Means used was purchased two days before the shooting in Georgia through a private transaction without a background check, the solicitor’s office said. Tirrell Means was on probation due to a recent conviction for receiving stolen goods and was prohibited from buying a firearm because of his record, according to the release.
Following the shooting, Means fled to Georgia, but he ultimately turned himself in to law enforcement officers and confessed to shooting his wife, prosecutors said.
During closing arguments, Circuit Deputy Solicitor Suzanne Mayes told the jury there was evidence of “malice aforethought” by Tirrell Means — saying he lured the victim to a dark, secluded location under false pretenses and that he emptied her bank account just before the crime, according to the release.
“Her fate was sealed before she even arrived,” Mayes said. “There could be no greater evidence of malice.”
In the first week of July, Tirrell Means was convicted of murder and and possession of a weapon during commission of a violent crime, the solicitor’s office said. He is not eligible for parole.
During sentencing, Yumonica’s mother, eldest daughter and sister addressed the court, according to the release. Yumonica was the beloved mother of three children and a longtime employee of the Milliken & Company Johnston Plant, the solicitor’s office said.
Judge Debra McCaslin termed the crime “absolutely horrific” just before handing down the life sentence, according to the release.
The investigation was initially led by Edgefield County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Jimmy Smith, who died unexpectedly in October of 2019, prosecutors said. Crime scene analysis was conducted by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, according to the release.
“We are grateful for the work of Inv. Jimmy Smith, the Edgefield County Sheriff’s Office, and SLED during this investigation,” said Mayes, who led the prosecution along with Assistant Solicitor Doug Fender. “We recognize the magnitude of this tragedy and are relieved to see this measure of justice for Yumonica’s family.”
Tirrell Means was represented by attorneys Robert Madsen and Bennett Castro, Edgefield County court records show.
This story was originally published July 11, 2021 at 2:33 PM.
