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by WILL FOLKS
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Prosecutors in the office of embattled South Carolina fifth circuit solicitor Byron Gipson have reportedly reached a controversial plea agreement with a “cannibal killer” accused of murdering two people at a Palmetto State “care facility” in 2023.
“The horrifying details of the suspect’s prior crimes paint a portrait of a predator whose violent compulsions may have gone unchecked for years,” we noted two years ago in referencing the case of 27-year-old Marc-Anthony Cantrell. “With each new discovery, the true extent of his alleged brutality emerges — a nightmarish history that raises questions about missed warnings, failed systems and the sinister intentions investigators say drove him to prey upon the most vulnerable.”
Cantrell was arrested on August 4, 2023 in connection with the murders of 22-year-old Jared Ondrea and 35-year-old Deshea Butler – both residents at a Midlands-area facility funded by the S.C. Department of Mental Health (SCDMH). He later confessed to strangling both men, cutting off their ears and eating them.
Cantrell also admitted to drinking Butler’s blood over several days from a coffee cup.
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Butler’s autopsy confirmed his left ear had been severed. Meanwhile, Ondrea’s body – which was stuffed in a Rubbermaid storage bin – was unknowingly collected by City of Columbia garbage services and transported to a landfill.
His remains are unlikely to ever be recovered.
Given the depravity of these crimes – and Cantrell’s lengthy and similarly disturbing criminal history – family members of the victims were expecting him to receive a lengthy prison sentence. Frankly, anyone familiar with FITSNews‘ editorial position is well aware of what we would recommend as the appropriate sentence: death by similar means as Cantrell doled out to his victims.
Instead, prosecutors have purportedly extended – and Cantrell has reportedly accepted – a plea deal which would give him twenty (20) years for each murder, sentences which could conceivably run concurrently.
Prosecutors were adamant the only deal offered to Cantrell was a sentence of forty (40) years and referred to any other characterization of the plea as “absolutely inaccurate.”
Cantrell is currently in the custody of the S.C. Department of Corrections (SCDC) on an arson charge – with a projected release date of October 20, 2031. According to his prison record (.pdf), he was disciplined on January 30, 2026 for “threatening to inflict harm” on a correctional employee – and damaging or destroying SCDC property valued at more than $100. Last summer, he was cited for drug possession.
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According to our sources, family members of Cantrell’s victims are livid over the excessive leniency allegedly being shown to him by Gipson’s office. We have also heard reports that these family members were not notified of the plea offer extended to Cantrell – which they have since objected to after the fact.
If accurate, that lack of disclosure could violate the constitutional rights afforded to crime victims in South Carolina – which wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened in this judicial circuit.
Gipson’s office said any suggestion that prosecutors failed to notify family members of the terms of the plea in advance was also “not accurate.”
Cantrell was scheduled to appear before S.C. circuit court judge Christopher D. Taylor this Wednesday (February 18, 2026) at 2:00 p.m. EST and plead guilty to the two murders – although depending on the deal negotiated by Gipson’s office, Taylor could have conceivably rejected the deal or strengthened the sentence.
Attorneys Dick Harpootlian and Joe McCulloch were reportedly planning to attend the hearing on behalf of family members of the victims – as were several prominent statewide victims’ advocates. Our Erin Parrott was also assigned to attend the hearing and report back on any developments.
At the last minute, however, word reached our office that the hearing had been continued…
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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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3 comments
Where was this facility located? This is the first I recall hearing of such an incident.
Another reason Gipson should be impeached. He already let out a horrible murdered in a secret behind doors agreement. But let’s use thousands of taxpayer’s dollars to “investigate” his actions. This corruption in this state is glaring
I hope that Byron Gipson will bring indictment against Irmo Police officer John Parker, who back on June 22, 2025 caused another “Byron”, Byron Jackson, to be put in the hospital after a physical altercation that resulted in Mr. Jackson dying 3 days later. Mr. Jackson is African-American, while officer Parker is WHITE!!! Irmo Police Chief Bobby Dale won’t release the video of what happened to the public despite assurances of transparency, which Mr. Jackson’s family has asked for. It’s worth noting that this same officer John Parker, while with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department back in 2013, shot and killed another African-American man while he fled on foot. Somehow, this suspect managed to shoot himself with his own gun AFTER he was shot and killed. FIRE IRMO POLICE CHIEF BOBBY DALE! You can reach Chief Dale at 781-8088!