Investigative journalists Mandy Matney and Liz Farrell begin their look into the Oct. 7 death of 38-year-old Christa Bauer Gilley in Houston, Texas, and the arrest of her husband, Lee Gilley, who initially told investigators that Christa died by suicide after an argument at their Houston Heights home. Christa, who was nine weeks pregnant at the time of her death, was strangled to death according to investigators. Christa, a native of Summerville, South Carolina, was a cardiac and pulmonary physical therapist at Memorial Hermann Hospital and mother to two small children. 

Court documents in the case reveal shocking details of Lee Gilley’s actions after his wife’s death, as well as the entrance of a star criminal defense lawyer, Dick DeGuerin, who defended the likes of David Koresh and Robert Durst. Affidavits filed in Christa’s children’s custody case show the horrible way her family found out about her death and about how she died.

Lee Gilley is out on bond and is awaiting trial. His capital murder trial is scheduled to begin on June 5, 2026 in Harris County, TX.

Scott Spivey, 33 year-old from Tabor City, North Carolina, died in September 2023 in Horry County, South Carolina, following what authorities described as a road rage shooting incident. Spivey was shot by North Myrtle Beach businessman Weldon Boyd and Boyd’s friend, Bradley Williams. Despite Spivey being shot in the back, the Horry County Police Department initially determined Boyd and Williams were victims and filed no charges, a decision that later drew significant scrutiny.

Concerns about the investigation arose following allegations of misconduct and favoritism within HCPD. Former Deputy Chief Brandon Strickland, who resigned in March 2025, was recorded discussing his involvement in assisting Boyd and “sending the write people” to the scene. Former officer Damon Vescovi was fired in April 2025 after body camera footage found by journalist Beth Braden showed him writing a note “ACT LIKE VICTIM, CAMERA” and showing it to Boyd. Although early reviews by SLED and the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office cited insufficient evidence to pursue charges, the public has called for the investigation to be reopened.

On October 3, 2025, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson sent a letter appointing 7th Judicial Circuit Solicitor Barry Barnette as special prosecutor to independently review the case surrounding Scott Spivey’s death.

Scott’s sister, Jennifer Spivey Foley, pursued a wrongful death lawsuit with attorney Mark Tinsley that revealed recorded communications casting doubt on Boyd’s account and his relationships within law enforcement. After a four-day hearing in February 2026, Judge Eugene “Bubba” Griffith presided over an immunity hearing in the wrongful death lawsuit to determine whether or not Boyd and Williams met the criteria for immunity under the state’s Stand Your Ground law. Griffith determined that both Weldon Boyd and Bradley Williams are NOT immune from civil liability.

For more information, visit Scott’s case overview page.

Charity Beallis, along with her six year old twins, were found shot to death on December 3, 2025, in their Bonanza, Arkansas, home. 

The bodies were discovered the day after Charity’s divorce from her husband, Dr. Randall Beallis, was finalized. The pair had been separated for about 10 months after Randy allegedly strangled Charity in front of the children. 

Charity was Beallis’s third wife. He and his first wife, Dr. Donna Beallis, divorced in 2010. His second wife, Shawna Graham, died in 2012 of a gunshot wound to the forehead. Authorities ruled it a suicide, and the evidence into the investigation was ordered destroyed in 2014.

A couple weeks after Charity died, a dumpster diver found a black trash bag containing photos of Charity and the twins as well as one of Charity’s necklaces while she was looking through a dumpster at a Fort Smith apartment complex. 

An arrest has not been made in the case, and police have been tight-lipped about progress in the investigation.

Sara Lynn Moore Colucci, 38, was found dead outside the Summerville, South Carolina jewelry business she owned with her husband, Michael Colucci, in May 2015. A year later, Michael was charged with her murder. His first trial ended in a hung jury in November 2018, and the state pledged to retry the case.

For nearly nine years, Michael Colucci remained free under preferential bond conditions that were unclear even to officials within the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office. Prosecutors allege he killed Sara, while the defense claims her death was a suicide or an accident involving an industrial hose found at the scene.

Assistant Attorney General Joel Kozak leads the case alongside prosecutor Kinlee Abee, with Michael represented by Charleston attorney Andy Savage. On June 17, 2025, Judge Roger Young heard arguments on the defense’s motion to dismiss the indictment due to alleged government misconduct arguing that the prosecution withheld information about Sara Lynn’s allegedly suicidal ideation in the days before her death and ruled to quash the indictment without prejudice. The Attorney General’s Office must now return to the state grand jury to seek new charges, and Michael Colucci is currently free with no charges pending. 

Sara’s family continues to wait for justice. For more information, visit Sara Lynn’s case overview page.

What happened to Stephen Smith? From the start, the 2015 investigation into his death was chaotic and deeply flawed, plagued by jurisdictional confusion and concerns about investigative interference. Stephen was found dead just before 4 a.m. on July 8, 2015, in the middle of Sandy Run Road in Hampton County, South Carolina. Despite investigators noting there was no evidence to support it, his death was ruled a hit-and-run. That decision sent the case off course, placing it under the South Carolina Highway Patrol, an agency not equipped to investigate homicides of this nature.

When the investigation stalled, Stephen’s mother, Sandy Smith, refused to give up. In September 2016, she wrote a final, desperate letter to the FBI, warning that critical evidence was being covered up and that her family no longer knew who to trust. Nearly a decade later, Stephen’s death remains unsolved.

For more information on Stephen’s case, visit Stephen’s case overview page.

In February 2019, 19-year-old Mallory Beach was killed in Beaufort County, South Carolina, following a late-night boat crash on Archers Creek near Parris Island. The boat was allegedly operated by Paul Murdaugh, who was later indicted on multiple charges, including Boating Under the Influence Resulting in Death. The case drew widespread attention amid allegations that alcohol was illegally purchased using a false ID and that Paul’s family influence affected the initial response by law enforcement.

Paul Murdaugh was awaiting trial at the time of his murder in June 2021. In the years that followed, Mallory’s family pursued civil litigation seeking accountability from those they alleged contributed to the circumstances leading to her death. In 2024, attorney Mark Tinsley reached settlements on behalf of the Beach family with Buster Murdaugh, Alex Murdaugh, Parker’s Kitchen, and the estate of Maggie Murdaugh. A separate civil conspiracy lawsuit against Greg Parker remains pending.

Alex Murdaugh, a former South Carolina attorney, was convicted in March 2023 of murdering his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, and his younger son, Paul Murdaugh, at the family’s Moselle property in June 2021. He was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.

In addition to his murder convictions, Murdaugh later pleaded guilty in both state and federal court to a wide-ranging series of financial crimes. In state court, he admitted to dozens of charges including breach of trust, money laundering, forgery, and computer crimes, acknowledging that he stole millions of dollars from clients, law partners, and others over more than a decade. In federal court, he pleaded guilty to bank fraud, wire fraud, and related offenses tied to the same schemes. The sentences imposed ensure Murdaugh will remain incarcerated for life.

Following his murder conviction, Murdaugh filed multiple post-trial motions alleging juror misconduct and seeking a new trial. Those claims were litigated in state court in front of (Ret.) Chief Justice Jean Toal and ultimately denied, prompting further appeals. The South Carolina Supreme Court heard oral arguments on both of Alex Murdaugh’s appeals in February 2026. The court has not yet issued its ruling.

Russell Laffitte, the former CEO of Palmetto State Bank, was charged for his role in a financial scheme carried out alongside Alex Murdaugh that exploited vulnerable clients, including wrongful death settlement recipients. Victims of Russell Laffitte include Natarsha Thomas, Hakeem Pinckney, Arthur Badger, and Hannah & Alania Plyler.

In November 2022, Laffitte was convicted in federal court on multiple counts including conspiracy, bank fraud, wire fraud, and misapplication of bank funds. In 2024, a federal appeals court vacated those convictions due to errors in the jury instructions and ordered a new trial.

Shortly before his retrial was set to begin, Laffitte reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors. He pleaded guilty to bank fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy and was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison, bringing the federal case to a close.

Laffitte was also indicted on state charges related to breach of trust, criminal conspiracy, and computer crimes. He plead guilty to eight of the felony charges in October 2025, and was subsequently sentenced to 13 years, running concurrently to his federal sentence.

Cory Fleming, a former South Carolina attorney and longtime associate of Alex Murdaugh, was charged for his role in financial schemes involving the theft of settlement funds from the families of Gloria Satterfield and Hakeem Pinckney, both clients connected to cases handled alongside Murdaugh.

At the federal level, Fleming was indicted on multiple charges related to wire fraud and conspiracy stemming from the Satterfield and Pinckney cases. In August 2023, he was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison after agreeing to a plea deal.

In September 2023, Fleming appeared in state court before Judge Clifton Newman, where he pleaded guilty to 23 state charges including conspiracy, breach of trust, and money laundering related to both the Satterfield and Pinckney cases. He was sentenced to 14 years in state prison and has since appealed that sentence as “excessive”. The appeal remains pending.

Cory was released from federal prison in January 2026 after serving just a little over half of his sentence. Upon his release, he was transferred into the custody of the South Carolina Department of Corrections to begin serving his state sentence. As of March 2026, Cory’s whereabouts remain unknown. SCDC says he is being housed in another state under the Interstate Compact, which is a collaborative agreement that allows prisoners to be moved to other states. SCDC will not reveal which state Cory is housed in, citing security concerns.

After her death, Alex Murdaugh told Gloria’s sons, Tony and Brian Satterfield, that he would help them pursue a wrongful death claim so they could receive financial support. Instead, Murdaugh and attorney Cory Fleming diverted more than $4 million in insurance settlement funds connected to Gloria’s death. None of the money was paid to her sons at the time.

Fleming agreed to a $4.3 million settlement with the Satterfield family in October 2021. In March 2022, Murdaugh filed a confession of judgment admitting wrongdoing and acknowledging that he owed the Satterfield family $4.3 million. Both Fleming and Murdaugh have been sentenced for their financial crimes surrounding the Satterfield case in both federal and state courts.

His mother, Pamela, told LUNASHARK that he was improving before he died suddenly in 2011. 10 years later, Pamela learned that Murdaugh allegedly stole insurance money from the Pinckney family after the accident, and again from Hakeem’s wrongful death settlement against his care facility after his ventilator was mysteriously “unplugged.”

Cory Fleming, Russell Laffitte, and Alex Murdaugh pleaded guilty to their role in stealing the Pinckney settlement funds.

19-year-old Bowen Turner is accused of raping three women between 2018-2019. One of those victims, Dallas Stoller, died in November of 2021. Like Paul Murdaugh, Bowen Turner had the privilege of being represented by a state senator. State Senator Brad Hutto negotiated this shocking deal for his client to go free – even after he violated his bond conditions more than 60 times.  

Since his 2022 sweetheart deal, Turner has allegedly violated his probation at least three times. After a 2022 violation, he was placed in state prison under the Youthful Offender Act, and was released in November 2023. He was arrested again for DUI in March 2024, and was sent back to state prison before being released again on October 31, 2024. On February 11, 2025, Bowen was arrested for violating the terms of his probation by testing positive for THC and drinking at an Orangeburg County golf course. 

Turner is currently incarcerated at Turbeville Correctional Institution. His expected release date is April 8, 2028, though he could be eligible for parole as early as May 2026. Bowen is also a registered sex offender, despite an attempt to appeal that classification.

Jeroid John Price was sentenced to life in prison for the December 2002 murder of Carl Smalls Jr. at a Columbia, South Carolina nightclub. In March 2023, Price was released from prison after a sealed order issued by retiring Fifth Circuit Court Judge Casey Manning reduced his life sentence. The release occurred without a public hearing, and at the time, Price was represented by attorney and state legislator Todd Rutherford.

In April 2023, the South Carolina Supreme Court reversed the order that led to Price’s release. Price did not voluntarily return to custody, prompting a nationwide search. He was apprehended in New York City on July 12, 2023, and returned to the South Carolina Department of Corrections to serve the remainder of his sentence.