Donnie Birchfield (Lancaster County Detention Center).
A South Carolina man is behind bars for keeping four people captive in his basement for years, Palmetto State authorities say.
Donnie Ray Birchfield, Jr., 35, faces numerous charges, including four counts each of false imprisonment and exploitation of a vulnerable adult, along with two counts of abusing a vulnerable adult, two counts of domestic violence, and four counts of financial fraud, as reported by the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office.
Warrants in the case were recently released.
“That’s a deeply disturbed individual,” commented one of his neighbors to WSOC, an affiliate of ABC and Telemundo based in Charlotte, North Carolina. “Doing something like that is truly sickening.”
The disturbing allegations are centered around a house on Churchill Drive in Lancaster — a small town located just a few miles south of the state border with its northern namesake.
The investigation was initiated on July 25, following a report of an “unattended death,” as per warrants acquired by The Post and Courier. By August 1, authorities had arrested Birchfield.
One of the alleged hostages died; she was married, with Birchfield being the only caregiver for her and her spouse. Authorities are uncertain of the connection between Birchfield and the couple, as indicated in the warrants.
Birchfield is also alleged to have denied the husband access to sustenance and medical necessities, law enforcement say.
The other two victims were women with whom Birchfield reportedly had romantic relationships. According to court documents, one of the women had been residing with Birchfield since September 2024, while the other had been living there since 2015.
Birchfield is said to have controlled the victims’ movement – only allowing them out of the basement when he allowed. This level of control extended to when the victims ate and used the bathroom, authorities claim.
Each victim’s cell phone was controlled by the defendant in order to keep them from calling for help, authorities say. And, at least one of Birchfield’s so-called “romantic” partners was regularly strangled, according to law enforcement. These routine punishments caused her to fear for her life, authorities continued.
Adding to the woman’s apparent fear was a comment the defendant allegedly made about prior experience with disposing a human body, according to the warrants.
Birchfield also committed extensive financial crimes against the couple in his care, authorities say. This scheme involved years of using the couple’s credit and debit cards to pay for at least $2,000 in online Walmart purchases dating back to 2021. At least 32 such purchases were made “solely for the listed suspect’s use and not for the victim,” a local police report obtained by the Post & Courier alleges.
This year, however, the spending apparently ramped up.
In the eight months of 2025, Birchfield allegedly spent in excess of $11,800 from the couple’s bank account to pay off his own debts, police say.
Officers say the investigation is ongoing and could lead to additional charges.
Birchfield is being detained without bail at the Lancaster County Detention Center.
