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by JENN WOOD
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Attorneys for a South Carolina man accused of murdering, sexually assaulting and exploiting a vulnerable adult are asking a judge to dismiss ten of the charges against him – claiming the municipal judge who signed the underlying warrants for his arrest was not a “neutral and detached” judicial officer.
Donnie Ray Birchfield Jr., 36, remains jailed on a total of 18 charges arising from what investigators have described as years of confinement, starvation, abuse and financial exploitation he allegedly perpetrated against two vulnerable adults inside a basement living space located on Churchill Road in Lancaster, S.C.
The most serious charges — murder and first-degree criminal sexual conduct — stem from the July 2025 death of Shirley Arnsdorff, a 49-year-old vulnerable adult who weighed approximately 65 pounds at the time of her death.
In a motion dated June 29, 2026 (.pdf), defense attorney Ryan Payne asked the court to dismiss ten warrants with prejudice, arguing they were signed by a municipal judge who later attended one of Birchfield’s bond hearings and allegedly sat beside one of the purported victims.
A separate discovery motion (.pdf) seeks records of any Flock license-plate camera searches involving vehicles connected to the investigation, as well as a complete chain of custody for evidence held by the Lancaster Police Department (LPD) and Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO).
A hearing on these motions is scheduled for Friday, August 21, 2026, in Lancaster before S.C. circuit court judge Robert E. Hood.
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THE DISMISSAL MOTION…
The defense’s motion to dismiss targets ten warrants that charged Birchfield with two counts of false imprisonment, two counts of domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature, two counts of financial transaction card theft, one count of financial identity fraud and three counts of exploiting a vulnerable adult.
It does not seek dismissal of all 18 charges currently pending against him — including the murder and first-degree criminal sexual conduct charges stemming from Arnsdorff’s death.
According to the motion, Birchfield was initially arrested on August 1, 2025, and charged with two counts each of abuse of a vulnerable adult and false imprisonment. Bond was denied on those charges.
Four additional warrants — two for false imprisonment and two for domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature — were issued on August 6, 2025. Six financial and exploitation warrants followed on August 25, 2025.
Those ten warrants were signed by Lancaster municipal judge Jeanne Gardner, according to the defense.
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Payne contended Gardner should have recused herself because her late brother was formerly married to Birchfield’s stepmother, Wynette Birchfield, with whom the defendant was living at the time of his arrest.
The defense further alleged Gardner abandoned her neutral judicial role by attending Birchfield’s September 4, 2025, bond hearing in general sessions court and sitting with one of the alleged victims.
Gardner did not preside over that hearing.
According to a sworn affidavit (.pdf) attached to the motion, Wynette Birchfield said she observed Gardner sitting close enough to the alleged victim that she believed Gardner was working as a victim advocate. The affidavit stated Wynette Birchfield had been married to Gardner’s brother from June 1995 until September 1998 and claimed the two women continued to recognize one another when they encountered each other in the community.
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“INVESTED IN THE CASE”
The defense also cited a recorded conversation between members of the Lancaster Police Department and one of the alleged victims following Birchfield’s September 2025 bond hearing.
According to the motion, Lancaster police captain Nelson Bowling told the alleged victim a municipal judge had attended the hearing because the judge was “invested in the case.”
“She wanted to come,” Bowling allegedly said. “She wanted to be part of it.”
Lead investigator Jordan Brown identified Gardner as the judge who attended the bond hearing while testifying during Birchfield’s December 17, 2025, preliminary hearing, according to the filing.
The motion further alleged Brown later sent Gardner and Lancaster municipal judge Ronda Parker a video concerning the Birchfield case. The video reportedly featured an interview with members of Birchfield’s family.
Statements from both judges attached to the defense filing offer a different account of when Gardner recognized the family connection.
Gardner wrote that she was watching the video on December 31, 2025, when she heard Wynette Birchfield’s name and was shown an old photograph of the family. Gardner said she then recognized Wynette as someone who had been briefly married to her late brother in the 1990s.
“If she would walk in the door at this time, I would not recognize her,” Gardner wrote.
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Gardner said she notified Brown of the connection and would recuse herself from the case moving forward.
Parker similarly wrote that Gardner appeared to realize the connection only after hearing Wynette’s name and viewing the photograph. Parker said she instructed Gardner to notify the lead investigator and recuse herself from further proceedings involving Birchfield.
The defense disputes that account, arguing Gardner “knew, or should have known,” of the relationship before signing the warrants.
Payne contends Gardner’s participation created both actual concerns about impartiality and the appearance of judicial impropriety, violating Birchfield’s rights under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
“Justice must satisfy the appearance of justice,” the motion stated, citing federal precedent.
The filing also invoked South Carolina’s Code of Judicial Conduct, which requires judges to preserve the integrity and independence of the judiciary and disqualify themselves when their impartiality could reasonably be questioned.
The allegations contained in the motion have not yet been proven in court. Prosecutors will have an opportunity to challenge the defense’s characterization of Gardner’s actions and argue whether any alleged irregularity would legally justify dismissing the warrants.
Dismissal with prejudice would prevent the state from pursuing those charges again — a drastic remedy the defense nevertheless argues is necessary because the warrants have already been issued and executed.
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FLOCK SEARCHES, CHAIN OF CUSTODY
In a separate supplemental discovery motion, Payne asked prosecutors to disclose “any and all” Flock camera searches involving vehicles connected to the case — including searches that produced no results.
Flock Safety operates automated license-plate recognition cameras capable of recording vehicle locations and allowing law enforcement agencies to search collected data.
The filing does not identify the vehicles at issue or explain what the defense believes the searches may show.
Payne also requested a complete chain of custody for every piece of evidence currently held by the Lancaster Police Department or Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office.
Chain-of-custody records document when evidence was collected, transferred, tested or handled — and by whom. Those records can become critical when attorneys challenge whether physical or forensic evidence was properly preserved or potentially contaminated.
The request applies to the broader collection of 18 warrants pending against Birchfield, not merely the ten charges challenged in the dismissal motion.
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THE UNDERLYING CASE…
Investigators were dispatched to 425 Churchill Road on July 25, 2025, after Birchfield called 911 to report an unresponsive woman in the basement.
Officers found Arnsdorff dead on the floor.
According to testimony presented during Birchfield’s preliminary hearing, he initially told investigators Arnsdorff had stomach cancer and died of natural causes. An autopsy reportedly found no evidence of cancer.
Instead, prosecutors said Arnsdorff died from asphyxia caused by strangulation, with severe malnutrition identified as a contributing factor.
The autopsy also reportedly documented ligature marks around her neck and fresh traumatic injuries to her vaginal and rectal areas consistent with an alleged sexual assault involving a foreign object.
Investigators testified Arnsdorff and her husband, Alvin Arnsdorff, were intellectually disabled and had been forced to live inside a camping tent erected in a basement bathroom without running water. Buckets and bottles were allegedly used as toilets, with urine and feces found inside the tent.
Alvin Arnsdorff reportedly weighed approximately 81 pounds when investigators located him.
Two other women — Berfilia Tovar and Brittany Rolla — also described years of physical and psychological abuse, including being strangled into unconsciousness, denied access to telephones and forced to seek permission to shower or use the bathroom.
Investigators further alleged Birchfield used the Arnsdorffs’ Social Security disability income, debit cards and bank accounts to cover personal expenses while depriving them of food and other necessities.
During the December preliminary hearing, Lancaster municipal judge Elizabeth Hyatt found probable cause on all 18 charges and forwarded the case to general sessions court.
That ruling did not determine whether Birchfield was guilty. It found only that prosecutors had presented sufficient evidence for the charges to proceed.
Friday’s hearing will determine whether the contested warrants survive the defense’s constitutional challenge and whether prosecutors must provide the additional Flock and evidence-handling records requested by Birchfield’s attorney.
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THE MOTION TO DISMISS…
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
As a private investigator turned journalist, Jenn Wood brings a unique skill set to FITSNews as its research director. Known for her meticulous sourcing and victim-centered approach, she helps shape the newsroom’s most complex investigative stories while producing the FITSFiles and Cheer Incorporated podcasts. Jenn lives in South Carolina with her family, where her work continues to spotlight truth, accountability, and justice.
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