Crime & Courts

Man was stabbed 73 times, SC official says. Here’s why two sisters are in prison

A South Carolina jury recently found a woman guilty of trying to cover up the death of a man who was stabbed more than 73 times by her sister, according to the 9th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.

A 4-day trial in a Charleston County courthouse ended April 23, when 26-year-old Keyarra Zakyah Gosa was convicted of accessory after the fact of murder, the solicitor’s office said Tuesday in a news release.

Judge Jennifer McCoy sentenced Gosa to a 10-year prison sentence, suspended to 5 years in prison and followed by 5 years of probation, according to the release. Gosa faced a maximum punishment of 15 years in a South Carolina Department of Corrections prison, the solicitor’s office said.

The charge stems from the 2020 killing of 32-year-old Christopher Brown, according to the release.

Between 12:44 and 3 a.m. on May, 28, 2020, Gosa’s sister — Nylesia Mullins — stabbed Brown to death in a North Charleston town home, the solicitor’s office said. Brown was stabbed at least 73 times, according to the release.

At about 10:30 a.m. the next day, a family friend went into the town home — rented to Annie Mullins, mother of both Nylesia Mullins and Gosa — and discovered the victim inside, according to the release.

Officers with the North Charleston Police Department searched the town home and found a large amount of blood in the back bedroom, bathroom, down the stairs and in the living room where the victim’s body was found in a large pool of blood, the solicitor’s office said. Brown was covered from the waist up with a trash bag, according to the release.

Law enforcement said the house smelled like bleach, and a large container of bleach and bloody towels were located in the home, the solicitor’s office said. Luminol tests revealed that many places that appeared clean to the naked eye were blood stained, according to the release.

Shortly after Nylesia Mullins killed Brown, and while still at the town home, she called Gosa for help at about 3 a.m., the solicitor’s office said. Video surveillance and forensic technology showed that Gosa drove to the town home, where she stayed for almost an hour, according to the release. Gosa then drove back to her apartment with her sister, and the two stayed there for a while, the solicitor’s office said.

After the homicide, Nylesia Mullins went on the run and hid, according to the release. Members of the U.S. Marshals Service found her on June 27, 2020, in North Carolina, the solicitor’s office said.

The day after Brown was killed, Gosa went with her mother to the North Charleston Police Department to provide law enforcement with a statement about the homicide and Nylesia Mullins’ possible whereabouts, according to the release. Gosa consistently lied throughout the interview and provided law enforcement with misleading information, the solicitor’s office said.

Records tied to Gosa indicated that she helped Nylesia Mullins attempt to evade getting captured by law enforcement officers, according to the release.

Police also searched Gosa’s vehicle where they found a bottle of wound wash, yellow rubber gloves that tested positive for the presence of blood, and the passenger side door also tested positive for the presence of blood, the solicitor’s office said.

On July 30, 2025, Nylesia Mullins pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 30 years in prison, according to the release. She’s currently an inmate at Leath Correctional Institution and is projected to be released on Jan. 8, 2046, prison records show.

Annie Mullins pleaded guilty to giving false information to law enforcement on January 8, 2026, and was sentenced to 3 days incarceration, the solicitor’s office said.

North Charleston police led the investigation into Gosa.

Assistant Solicitors Sara Bozarth and Cassity Brewer prosecuted the case against Gosa for the solicitor’s office. Attorney’s Laree Hensley and James Smiley represented Gosa, according to the release.

“The conviction sends a clear message that attempts to mislead investigators will result in prosecution,” the solicitor’s office said in the release.

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Noah Feit
The State
Noah Feit is a Real Time reporter with The State focused on breaking news, public safety and trending news. The award-winning journalist has worked for multiple newspapers since starting his career in 1999. Support my work with a digital subscription
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