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A South Carolina jury found accused killer Craig Anthony Lewis not guilty of murdering his late wife this week, capping a three-day trial that included a controversial decision about the exclusion of key evidence.
Lewis was charged with murder after prosecutors claimed he set his wife on fire following a violent fight at their Walterboro, S.C. home on the evening of January 16, 2019.
Terry Lewis sustained third degree burns over 38 percent of her body – with doctors telling family members they were unsure she would survive even the first 48 hours after the incident. Against all odds, Terry survived her initial injuries – although she dealt with respiratory issues, temperature spikes, infections and fluctuating oxygen levels. When doctors were finally able to begin the process of slowly lifting her sedation, her daughter – Leigh Ann Cronkey – said her mom began experiencing terrifying visions, screaming “die, bitch, die” over and over again.
It was only when Terry’s sedation was finally lifted that she was able to detail what allegedly happened to her on the night she was burned. At that point, a detective was brought in to take a recorded statement. Leigh Ann was asked to leave the room to avoid any conflicts and Terry was taken off of any medication that might impair her judgment. Leigh Ann sat outside the room while a close friend sat with Terry.
At that point, she told the investigator the graphic details of what allegedly transpired…
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THE VICTIM’S STATEMENTS…
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Prosecutors – led by assistant fourteenth circuit solicitor Hunter Swanson – told the jury the case against Lewis was circumstantial, but that his actions after his wife was brought to the hospital “were not those of a loving and caring husband… they were those of a murderer.”
Swanson said rather than call 911, Lewis instead “paraded Terry around the house” while she was “dying from burns, fighting for her life” – leaving bloody footprints throughout the house. He then inexplicably put clean clothes on his wife – and cleaned himself up – before finally taking her to the emergency room.
The clothes Terry was wearing the night she was burned were never located…
After doctors decided to airlift Terry to the Burn Care Center in Augusta, Georgia, prosecutors told the jury Lewis left the emergency room. According to Swanson, when police showed up to the home the couple shared at 273 Wade Hampton Drive, Craig Lewis “was spraying off what appeared to be fire debris on the carport.” Swanson also said a couch had been removed from the living room which “was later found burned up on the side of the road.”
When police went to a second home owned by Lewis off of Can City Road, they discovered stuffing from the couch and smoking burn pits.
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Lewis’ defense team – led by S.C. senator Margie Bright Matthews – told the jury the original fire at the home was an accident that occurred when Terry was trying to light her wood-burning stove. Matthews added Craig Lewis didn’t call 911 because the hospital was so close to where they lived.
Matthew further argued Terry’s initial story to doctors and nurses aligned with her husband’s version of events – and that when Lewis went home to get ready to go to Augusta to be with his wife, Terry’s daughter told the nurse she had questions about what happened, which initiated the investigation. Matthews also told jurors the lack of any dash camera or body worn camera (BWC) recordings by investigating officers raised questions about the integrity of the investigation.
Matthews was also successful in making sure all of Terry Lewis’ statements about the incident were excluded from the trial. The lawyer-legislator argued the admission of such evidence was unconstitutional as the law mandates a defendant must be able to cross-examine every witness against them.
Since Terry Lewis was dead, cross examination was impossible.
Rule 804(b)(2) of South Carolina’s rules of criminal procedure permits the admission of a hearsay statement “made by a declarant while believing that the declarant’s death was imminent, concerning the cause or circumstances of what the declarant believed to be impending death.”
Circuit court judge Marvin Dukes III ruled Terry’s statements did not fit this exception because her death wasn’t (and wasn’t believed to be) imminent at the time she made them. This ruling left Terry’s daughter in the unenviable position of having to carry the load as the prosecution’s key witness.
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THE KEY WITNESS…
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Leigh Ann took the stand on Wednesday, November 6, 2024 and testified about the domestic abuse she witnessed between her mother and Craig Lewis – as well as her mother’s suffering following the fire and her subsequent death. She was unable to testify about what her mother told her happened on the night of the fire because it was considered hearsay.
The night before Terry was taken to the hospital, Leigh Ann told the jury she received a call from her mother to come pick her up between 2:00 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. When she arrived, she said her mother was hysterical. Leigh Ann took her mother to the couple’s primary residence and stated she witnessed Craig slam Terry’s hand in the door, slam her face into a grill and push her down a wheelchair ramp until Terry Lewis hit the ground near their home’s backdoor.
Leigh Ann said Craig told her to take her mom away because she was cheating. Terry stayed with Leigh Ann that night, but insisted on going back the next day, per her testimony. Later that day, Craig called Leigh Ann to inform her of her mother’s injuries from the fire.
Matthews pushed back against Leigh Ann’s testimony, telling the jury they should “follow the money” when considering her statements. According to Matthews, days after her mother was admitted to the hospital, Leigh Ann filed to become her legal guardian in court – a move she says put her in charge of Terry’s finances.
Once she gained control of the finances, Matthews accused Leigh Ann of freezing her step-father out of the couple’s joint checking account – which contained money he had inherited from an uncle. Matthews said Cronkey also replaced Lewis as the beneficiary of a $25,000 life insurance policy on her mother.
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THE VERDICT…
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After less than two hours of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty. Matthews promptly moved for the court to expunge all of the indictments filed against her client, release him from his bond and have his ankle monitor removed.
Five years after his wife died from her injuries, Craig Lewis left court a free man.
Meanwhile, Terry’s daughter reactivated her Facebook account briefly to post the following status update: “I am reactivating just to say no, we aren’t okay. We will take today and grieve, cry, throw things. Tomorrow we have a spa day and start our lives again. Without anything hanging over us daily. It’s over. We don’t have to like it or agree with all of the rules of evidence but it’s our justice system. Tomorrow is day one of the rest of our lives.”
Leigh Ann’s reference to the “rules of evidence” is noteworthy, as the court’s decision to keep her mother’s testimony from being admitted – while on sound legal footing at the outset of the trial – became tenuous once Matthews implied no statements were taken from Terry following the incident.
When Matthews made those statements during her questioning of Leigh Ann, prosecutors argued the door had swung open to them introducing Terry’s recorded interview by way of offering a rebuttal.
“That information was agreed upon to not be admissible because it is hearsay, but when defense brings it up…” Swanson began to argue.
Dukes interrupted Swanson, claiming it would have been an “extreme sanction” to allow the recording of Terry Lewis’ interview to be admitted based on Matthews’ statements.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Jenn Wood is FITSNews’ incomparable research director. She’s also the producer of the FITSFiles and Cheer Incorporated podcasts and leading expert on all things Murdaugh/ South Carolina justice. A former private investigator with a criminal justice degree, evildoers beware, Jenn Wood is far from your average journalist! A deep dive researcher with a passion for truth and a heart for victims, this mom of two is pretty much a superhero in FITSNews country. Did we mention she’s married to a rocket scientist? (Lucky guy!) Got a story idea or a tip for Jenn? Email her at jenn@fitsnews.com.
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1 comment
Attorneys perverting justice again.