A “sick” man allegedly kept four people captive in the basement of his South Carolina home, abused them and stole their money — only getting found out when one of them died from the abuse, according to police.
Donnie Ray Birchfield Jr., 35, is accused of keeping the foursome — a vulnerable married couple and two women he was in a relationship with — in his home in Lancaster, according to a warrant obtained by the Courier Post.
There, he allegedly beat them while cutting them off from the outside world, even controlling when they ate and used the bathroom, the warrant said.
Cops first investigated after one of the captives — the married woman — died on July 25.
Investigators said the woman had been dead for a day — and had been physically abused and denied sustenance and medical treatment, the report said.
They then found the dead woman’s husband as well as the two other women being held, the report said, without identifying the four people held.
Birchfield was arrested Aug. 1 and charged with abuse of a vulnerable adult, four counts of false imprisonment and domestic violence. He was later hit with fraud and exploitation charges for allegedly using his prisoners’ money.
Authorities are awaiting a pathologist’s report before pursuing more charges, WSOC-TV reported.
“That’s a sick individual right there,” neighbor Darryl Evans told the outlet. “He’s a sick person to do something like that.”
The dead woman and her husband were vulnerable adults and Birchfield was their caregiver, although it’s not clear how he knew them. The other two women were allegedly in romantic relationships with Birchfield, according to court documents.
One woman had lived with him since September 2024, while the other had been in the home since 2015. It’s not clear how long the vulnerable couple had been living there.
The victims, none of whom were identified by police, only left the basement when Birchfield allowed, according to arrest warrants.
Along with physical abuse, Birchfield is accused of stealing thousands of dollars from them, spending at least $2,000 at Walmart with the couple’s credit card since 2021.
In just the past eight months, he also spent nearly $12,000 from the couple’s bank account to pay off his credit cards.
One of Birchfield’s girlfriends claimed that he had threatened to kill her and hurt her family, according to charging documents. He also chillingly told her he knew how to dispose of a body from past experiences.
Birchfield is locked up at the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office under a $150,000 bond.
