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A lawsuit filed in South Carolina has exposed a nightmarish scandal involving a vulnerable young man, a convicted arsonist and animal abuser and a care facility that allegedly turned a blind eye to horror.
The lawsuit – filed by attorneys Dick Harpootlian and Joe McCulloch of Columbia, S.C. – claims that 22-year-old Jared Ondrea was placed in a “residential care home” in South Carolina’s capital city that was nothing more than a house of horrors. At the facility, New Hope’s Harper Street home, he was brutally strangled, stuffed into a storage bin and discarded like trash – his body never to be recovered.
Even more disturbingly, the alleged killer – 27-year-old Marc-Anthony Cantrell – later confessed to cutting off Jared’s ear and eating it, believing it would give him his power. According to the filing, the tragic events played out under the watch of a facility that billed itself as a safe haven for the mentally ill — but instead harbored a violent predator.
The lawsuit – filed on behalf of Jared’s grandmother and personal representative of his estate, Peggy Ondrea – names New Hope Home Solutions, LLC, its owner Brittany Reynolds-Jackson, as well as the South Carolina Department of Mental Health (SCDMH) as defendants. The complaint accuses them of gross negligence, recklessness, and wrongful death.
According to the filing, SCDMH – which was responsible for Jared’s mental health care – recommended he move into the facility without warning him or his family that he would be living under the same roof as a convicted criminal with a history of violence and sadism. Cantrell had previously been imprisoned for setting his grandmother’s house on fire to cover up his brutal murder of the family’s dogs.
Why did he kill the dogs? Because according to him, “it felt good.” During his time in prison, Cantrell got tattooed devil horns on his forehead and allegedly worshiped Satan.
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THE GRUESOME CRIME AND CHILLING COVER-UP
Jared was last seen alive when his family dropped him off at the Harper Street facility on March 20, 2023. Just days later, when his family arrived to pick him up for an appointment, they discovered he was missing. Even worse, no one at the facility even noticed his absence, according to the lawsuit. It wasn’t until three days later – March 23, 2023 – when staffers finally admitted Jared had been gone for days. Instead of alerting law enforcement, the suit claimed they dismissed his disappearance.
What they didn’t know was Jared had already been savagely murdered. According to Cantrell’s confession, he strangled Jared with a rope, placed a plastic bag over his head, and stuffed his body into a Rubbermaid storage bin. He then carried the bin through the house and out the door, placing Jared’s corpse into a trash can, which was eventually collected by city garbage services. Jared’s remains were likely discarded in a landfill, never to be seen again.
Months after Jared’s disappearance, another resident of the Harper Street facility, Deshea Butler, also mysteriously vanished. When police investigated, they found his decomposing body in a wooded area nearby. Security footage captured Cantrell dragging Butler’s body away, which led to his arrest.
Once in custody, Cantrell confessed to both murders in chilling detail. His confession took a bizarre and horrifying turn when he claimed that after strangling both men, he cut off their ears and ate them because he believed it would give him their power.
He also admitted to drinking Butler’s blood over several days from a coffee cup. The autopsy confirmed Butler’s left ear had been severed and that he had been strangled with a black, belt-like ligature.
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A FACILITY THAT ENABLED A MONSTER?
The lawsuit paints a damning picture of the Harper Street facility — alleging it operated without a license and without proper oversight — housing both mentally ill individuals and convicted felons in the same cramped, poorly managed environment.
According to the complaint, despite their promises of security, staff failed to:
- Notice that Jared was missing for three days
- Report his disappearance to the police
- Monitor security footage that could have revealed the crime
- Ensure that a mentally unstable, violent criminal like Cantrell wasn’t living among vulnerable residents
Even more disturbing, the lawsuit alleges that the facility continued to operate despite two gruesome murders and with no immediate changes in protocol to protect other residents.
The complaint also alleges severe failures within SCDMH – an agency it insists should have been aware that Cantrell was a ticking time bomb. He had been placed in an in-patient psychiatric facility just months before Jared’s murder after claiming bugs were crawling under his skin and displaying other severe delusions. Despite the risks associated with housing Cantrell, the mental health counselor admitted in a deposition that she had only two days of training – and relied on Google to research treatment methods.
Cantrell was charged with two counts of murder on September 19, 2023 in Richland County. His bond was denied and as his alleged crimes constituted a violation of his probation, he was placed in South Carolina Department of Corrections’ (SCDC) Broad River Correctional Institution pending trial.
SCDMH is led by a seven-member commission appointed by governor Henry McMaster. As of this writing, three of those seven commission seats are vacant – part of a troubling dearth of appointment authority exercised by McMaster’s office.
Or, not exercised, as it happens.
SCDMH is currently led by acting director Robert L. Bank, M.D., who has held this ostensibly temporary leadership position for more than two-and-a-half years.
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UPDATE |
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THE COMPLAINT…
(S.C. Judicial Branch)
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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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2 comments
Showcasing another great SCDMH DEI hire, are we????Exactly where my mind went. Didn’t Earn It???Be bold….Let’s talk about it?was this case worker who had to refer to Google a DEI hire. Curious minds want to know. Sure sounds like it.
I didn’t get the idea that Cantrell was a hire. I got he was a “patient”( you may be referring to staff) . But i’m wondering why the Judge recommended this facility? (If he in fact did) . But let’s go back to Will Folks article of the death penalty or expansion of methods for murder. Criminal insanity? How about frontal lobotomy! A danger to society no matter what.
The facility just used minimal staff, higher profits? That’s usually the case. Little or no background checks. The lack of criminal activity does not mean integrity. I’ve seen “barley passed the exam” aids avoided work, denied responsibility for damage or missing patient property. There may be a case here, but all facts are not disclosed here. There is the state, whose “regulators” sometimes overwhelmed and do not make unannounced visits. Very sad for the family, and reprehensible conduct.