Year after SC man went missing someone was charged with murder, sheriff says
About a year after a South Carolina man was shot and killed another man was charged with murder, the Clarendon County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday.
On March 18, Markeem Asontay Williams was arrested for his role in the April 2025 death of Tyrese Najae Lawson, according to the sheriff’s office.
Williams shot and killed the 25-year-old Lawson, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
Lawson, who is from the Summerton area of Clarendon County, was publicly reported missing by the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office April 14, 2025. He had not been seen since April 10, when he was in Santee, according to the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office.
His family reported Lawson missing to law enforcement in Orangeburg County. It was then determined that Lawson was last seen in Clarendon County.
April 14 also was the day that Lawson’s body was found in a wooded area on Pocalla Drive in Clarendon County, according to the release.
At about 7:30 p.m. that day, deputies responded to a report of a body that was found in the Home Branch area, the Clarendon County Sheriff’s Office said. A person walking down a dirt road saw what they thought was a body in the woods just off the road, according to the sheriff’s office.
Deputies verified a body was found, and it was determined that it was Lawson.
Even though his body had been recovered, Lawson’s vehicle, a 2010 black Nissan Altima, was still missing. But on April 21, Lawson’s vehicle was found behind an abandoned residence on Porter Road in Clarendon County. That’s about 2 miles from where his body was discovered.
Information about a motive for the shooting, or if Lawson and Williams knew each other prior to the gunfire was not available.
No bond has been set for Williams, who is being held at the Clarendon County Detention Center, court records show. He’s scheduled to return to court on the murder charge on May 29, according to judicial records.
In addition to the Clarendon County and Orangeburg County sheriff’s offices, the case was investigated by members of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, Sumter Police Department, ATF, DEA and the FBI Columbia office.
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This story was originally published March 24, 2026 at 1:56 PM.
