Man who raped, murdered 89-year-old SC woman sentenced to life in prison

A 23-year-old man pleaded guilty to slitting the throat and raping an 89-year-old beloved Liberty city official, who was found dead in her home on Easter Sunday in 2020.

Thomas James Chapman received a life sentence after pleading guilty to murder, criminal sexual conduct, two counts of burglary and assault and battery of a high and aggravating nature in the death of Margaret Alice Karr, who served as deputy clerk at Liberty City Hall for 38 years. Liberty is a small city in Pickens County.

Prosecutors said Chapman went into Karr’s Mills Avenue home — which was located around the corner from where he lived on Norris Avenue — on Saturday, April 11, through an unlocked window, strangled and sexually assaulted her before stealing cash and fleeing.

Chapman returned sometime later with a large knife and slit her throat while she was severely injured and incapacitated, police said at the time of his arrest days after the murder.

Judge Edward W. Miller also required that Chapman have psychiatric treatment while at the South Carolina Department of Corrections.

Karr, who went by her middle name, Alice, was described by a Liberty police spokesman as a woman with a “kind and generous nature” who was a “well-respected woman of God.”

“Alice was a pillar of Liberty,” her obituary said.

She was described as a prayer warrior.

Survivors include a son, daughter and their spouses as well as two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

“She loved with her whole heart and was generous with her time, her love and her greeting cards. Her beautiful smile and genuine kindness leave a lasting legacy,” the obituary said.

At the time of the murder, a spokesman for her church, East Side Baptist, where she worshiped since 1942, said Easter was her favorite holiday.

This story was originally published December 15, 2021 at 2:31 PM.