On the night of September 12, 2020, Martimothy Pratray McIlwain, 33, was shot on Chester Avenue in Great Falls, South Carolina, near a bar and nightclub. First responders from the Great Falls Police Department, the Chester County Sheriff’s Office, and the State Law Enforcement Division found McIlwain with multiple gunshot wounds; the Chester County Coroner pronounced him dead that night.

A multi-agency investigation identified a suspect, Kenneth Xavier Redfern Jr., who was taken into custody and charged with murder. The case went to trial at the Chester County Courthouse in May 2022; after a four-day trial the jury returned a unanimous not guilty verdict. Reports noted Redfern was not released immediately because of unrelated pending charges in a separate Chester County homicide.

McIlwain, a Lancaster resident, was a father to seven children and was remembered at a graveside service at Lancaster Memorial Park on September 22, 2020. Does anyone who knew Martimothy or was in Great Falls that night have information that could help clarify what happened?