COLUMBIA, S.C. — A Richland County man has gotten life in prison for killing his own brother as well as a woman in front of her five-year-old child.
Charles Jason Carmichael, 42, was convicted by a jury of two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. Circuit Court Judge Clifton Newman sentenced him to life in prison.
The case involved the killings of Rufus Carmichael and Ashli Haigler. Rufus Carmichael was the killer's brother while Haigler was Rufus' partner.
During the trial, prosecutors told the jury that Charles had a fight with his brother on March 12, 2021. The next day, they said Charles rented a U-Haul and drove it to the Rufus' home in West Columbia where he kidnapped him. Charles then drove Rufus to his home where he shot and killed him.
According to the sequence of events laid out in court, Haigler then left the home that she shared with Rufus along with her five-year-old son to look for Rufus. Prosecutors said during the trial Charles lured her to a dead end road where he shot her twice in the upper body.
Haigler's five-year-old son was hiding in the back of the truck when the shooting happened. The little boy then left the vehicle to go get help for his mother. People living in the area called 911 when they saw the boy knocking on doors.
Prosecutors said Charles then drove Rufus' body to Aiken County where he dumped his brother's body in a field.
During the trial, prosecutors said a witness testified that she was with Charles when he was making plans to kill his brother. Officers also found a trash bag with blood soaked towels in the U-Haul, and that the bullets and shell casings matched one found in that vehicle.
