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The coroner in Dorchester County, South Carolina has released the names of the three individuals killed during a horrific triple homicide in Ladson, S.C.
They are: Adrienne Seay, 38, her father, John F. Childs, 68 – both of Mount Pleasant, S.C. – and Seay’s brother, John A. Childs, 36, of Boston, Massachusetts. All three were pronounced dead at the scene of the Abberly Crossing apartment complex in Ladson where a shooting took place at approximately 4:40 p.m. EST on Friday afternoon (December 27, 2024).
All three will undergo autopsies at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC).
As previously reported, a yet-to-be-identified suspect killed three people inside apartment 636 at Abberly Crossing on Friday afternoon prior to shooting and killing himself at a nearby location. A five-year-old child was abducted during the shooting, but the suspect released the child immediately prior to taking his own life at the secondary crime scene.
The suspect and one of the victims were going through a divorce, police have told local media.
While the deceased suspect’s name has not been released to the public, jail records indicate a 44-year-old Darius Ian Seay was booked at 3:01 a.m. EST on Thursday (December 26, 2024) by officers of the Charleston Police Department (CPD) on a charge of second degree assault and battery.
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12/26/24 TriCounty Police Blotter update: #chsnews
— Tricounty Police Blotter (@ChasCoMugshots) December 26, 2024
DARIUS IAN SEAY,
ASSAULT AND BATTERY pic.twitter.com/HiKBSlvFQk
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Seay was released approximately eight hours later – at 10:54 a.m. EST – on a $10,000 personal recognizance bond, meaning he did not have to put up any money to secure his release. This media outlet is submitting Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests in the hopes of gathering additional information about that arrest.
Again, as of 8:00 a.m. EST on Sunday (December 29, 2024), the Charleston County coroner had not identified the deceased perpetrator and police had not named anyone in connection with the triple homicide.
As previously reported, multiple witnesses at the apartment complex stated hearing “a commotion and banging noises coming from (inside) the apartment.”
One witness opened the door to his apartment and alighted onto a breezeway – at which point he found himself face to face with the alleged perpetrator, whom he said was “carrying a child in his arms.”
The suspect proceeded to pistol whip the witness – i.e. striking him in the face with a gun. He then descended the stairs of the complex to the parking lot where he approached a black Ford Explorer. At this point, the suspect “put the child in the vehicle” and donned a tan bulletproof vest and combat-style helmet while retrieving an AR-15 rifle from the back of the car.
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Information provided by witnesses enabled police to track the alleged perpetrator – and his vehicle – to 4352 Briarstone Court, a residence located approximately eight miles southeast of the Abberly Crossing apartments.
As police approached this residence and began attempting to examine the suspect vehicle, the alleged perpetrator emerged from the home accompanied by the five-year-old child. As soon as the suspect released the child from his grasp, he turned his gun on himself.
Once again, stay tuned to FITSNews for updates on this developing story…
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UPDATE |
Deceased suspect identified, additional details released…
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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1 comment
Lay down with dogs, you get up with fleas.