James Dewitt II, 52, was a respected councilman for Atlantic Beach who split his time between that town and his home in Columbia, South Carolina. Described as energetic and very active in his community, he and his wife Gloria, also 52, were well known to neighbors and seen as a well-loved couple.

On Sunday, October 9, 2022, investigators in Horry County found 52-year-old Natasha Stevens dead at a home outside Conway; her death was ruled a homicide. That evening deputies in Richland County conducted a welfare check at the Dewitts’ Greensprings Drive home and found James and Gloria Dewitt dead of apparent gunshot wounds. Authorities say the three deaths are connected and identified 25-year-old Matthew Allen Dewitt, the Dewitts’ son, as a suspect. He was arrested October 10 in Atlantic Beach and, according to warrants, confessed to Stevens’ killing after being read his rights. A motive has not been released.

Matthew Dewitt was charged with murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime and was ordered held without bond. A Richland County grand jury indicted him on murder charges on April 17, 2024; the case is proceeding in both Richland and Horry counties. Does anyone have information about the Dewitts or the events around October 9, 2022 that could help investigators?