DILLON — The two brothers who are among three teens charged in connection with the death of a 75-year-old Dillon woman reported missing Aug. 18 will remain in jail until their trial, having waived their bond hearing Thursday morning.
THE SUSPECTS
Damian Inman
Lorenzo Inman
Brothers Damian Inman, 17, and Lorenzo Inman, 18, are charged with murder, first-degree burglary, armed robbery, kidnapping and grand larceny, Dillon County Capt. Cliff Arnette said in a previous interview.
A 15-year-old is charged with murder, but also might be charged with kidnapping pending the ongoing investigation, Arnette said. Authorities are working to have him charged as an adult in the case.
The Inmans appeared before 4th Circuit Court Judge Edward Cottingham at 10 a.m. Thursday in Dillon.
The state also requested that DNA samples be taken from the brothers because law enforcement officers found fluid evidence in the course of their investigation.
The body of the woman discovered Aug. 18 on a rural dirt road was positively identified Aug. 19 as Mary Alice Stutts, Arnette said.
Stutts was reported missing from her West Calhoun Street home by a friend who came to check on her, according to a Dillon Police Department incident report.
Stutts’ friend tried to reach her several times by phone before arriving at the house to find its side door open, her car missing, and Stutts nowhere to be found, according to the report.
Later that day, two of the suspects were seen by Dillon police driving Stutts’ White 1999 Toyota Camry.
A vehicle pursuit that ensued turned into a foot chase after the suspect lodged the car on some nearby railroad tracks, Dillon County Sheriff Major Hulon said in a previous interview.
One of the two suspects taken into custody led authorities to the body, just outside of Little Rock on S.C. 9.
Investigators said that same suspect, a teen boy, told them the identity of a third suspect, who was taken into custody at Dillon High School where he’s a student.
One of the suspects told police the teen went to school as usual after the suspects kidnapped the victim, shoved her in the trunk of her car before shooting her at close range and leaving her body on the dirt road.
Autopsy results indicating the cause and manner of Stutts’ death are not yet available.
The teen told police they turned up the volume on the car radio to muffle the sounds of the victim screaming and struggling in the trunk of the car.
Investigators said that at some point, the three suspects drove the car to a scrap yard, where they tried to sell it.
Employees at the scrap yard would not buy the car because the suspects didn’t have the proper paperwork showing they were the owners.
Investigators have not released a motive for the attack or why Stutts was targeted.
— Morning News Staff Writer Jamie Rogers contributed to this report.
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