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by ERIN PARROTT
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A Colleton County, South Carolina jury has sentenced a Walterboro man to life in prison after finding him guilty of beating a four-year-old boy to death with an electrical cord – a crime prosecutors described as “a type of violence that none of us should ever have to experience.”
According to a release from the S.C. fourteenth judicial circuit, 32-year-old Kasiem Rashawn Stephens was convicted of homicide by child abuse and unlawful conduct toward a child in connection with the 2017 killing of 4-year-old Ki’Zadyn Shuler.
Investigators with the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) and the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) determined Stephens was responsible for caring for Shuler and his older sister on August 17, 2017 – the day the boy was brought to the hospital unresponsive.
Shuler’s sister – who was 6-years-old at the time – also suffered injuries that day, including abrasions and bruises.
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“A little boy’s life was cut short at the hands of someone who was supposed to take care of him,” said Tameaka A. Legette of the solicitor’s office. “Instead, this child was met with a type of violence that none of us should ever have to experience.”
During a search of the home where Stephens lived with his girlfriend Francesca Michelle Shuler – the children’s mother – investigators uncovered a large burn pile containing a burnt electrical cord, a charred child’s mattress and a leather belt.
Among the 20 witnesses for the state, a forensic pathologist from the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) testified that Shuler died from blunt head and neck trauma – the result of a severe beating that left acute injuries across his body.
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Stephens’ criminal record dated back to 2015, when he was convicted of endangering emergency personnel, followed by a 2016 conviction for driving under suspension and 2017 convictions for reckless driving and failure to stop for blue lights.
Although Francesca Shuler took the stand against Stephens, she also faced charges tied to her daughter’s injuries. She previously pleaded guilty to two counts of unlawful neglect of a child and is still awaiting sentencing.
The case was prosecuted by Legette of the solicitor’s Career Criminal Unit – which targets the circuit’s most violent and repeat offenders – with S.C. circuit court judge Carmen T. Mullen delivering the sentence on Thursday (September 25, 2025).
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Erin Parrott is a Greenville, S.C. native who graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2025 with a bachelor degree in broadcast journalism. Got feedback or a tip for Erin? Email her here.
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