GREEN POND, S.C.—A man has been charged with murder in the killings of his sister-in-law and daughter after South Carolina authorities found six people dead while responding to reports of a house fire and stabbings, officials said at a press conference Monday.
Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone identified a 50-year-old woman and an 11-year-old girl as two of the six people killed Sunday at a home engulfed in flames. No motive has been identified, and officials expect more charges to come. The other deceased victims’ identities have not been released as Colleton County Sheriff Buddy Hill said officials await autopsy results.
Ryan Lenard Manigo, 33, was held Sunday at the Colleton Detention Center as part of the ongoing investigation. Bond was not set at a Monday afternoon hearing, Stone said. Manigo has also been charged with attempted murder of the lone survivor on top of the two murder counts.
Authorities found the deceased victims and one person in critical condition at a home in Green Pond around 11 a.m., the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office said in a Sunday statement.
The surviving victim, a 13-year-old, was airlifted to a hospital from Green Pond, about 42 miles west of Charleston and treated at the scene for cuts and stabs. The victim shared the suspect’s first name and vehicle description with police outside the blaze, Hill said.
Hill thanked the victims’ family for their “tremendous help” and asked the public to keep them in their prayers at the Monday press conference.
“Today’s events that occurred in this quiet, nestled community of Green Pond are tragic,” Hiram Davis, a spokesperson for the family, told WCBD-TV on Sunday.
Davis thanked law enforcement agencies on behalf of the family for their response and compassion and stressed that while the motive is unknown, staying vigilant in the community is key.
Arson investigators from the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division are assisting with the case, the sheriff’s office said.
