On the evening of December 27, 2021, officers in North Charleston responded to the Filbin Creek Apartments after a resident heard a gunshot and later found a bullet hole in her dining-room cabinet. A masked man was seen running from a neighboring unit. When police and the property manager entered that apartment they encountered heavy smoke and heat; after extinguishing a fire they found 17-year-old Damarion Champagne and his 21-year-old brother, Jasmond Grant, dead side by side in the living room. The coroner confirmed both died of gunshot wounds.

Damarion was Black and had not yet finished high school. Investigators determined the fire had been set with an ignitable liquid and identified a suspect, Rashiean Richmond Washington, who had been the victims’ roommate and cousin by marriage; warrants were issued charging him with two counts of murder, second-degree arson, and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. Evidence at trial included a downward bullet trajectory, multiple shots to Damarion (three), bullet holes in a kitchen pantry door and back wall consistent with Damarion seeking shelter there, and signs that the body was moved before the fire was started.

Does anyone have information about Damarion’s life in Charleston or recalls seeing activity at the Filbin Creek Apartments that night?