Thomas Keitt Jr., 55, was found shot to death on January 15, 2020, on a remote dirt and gravel lane in Lugoff, near Elgin, South Carolina. His body was discovered by a passerby behind his white Cadillac; his wallet and phone were missing and tire tracks suggested another vehicle had been at the scene. Investigators described the killing as planned and targeted, not random.

The investigation focused on two local teenagers known to Keitt. Authorities arrested 17-year-old Cameron Ezekiel Hyatt and 18-year-old Albertina Hattie Jolera Bennett just over a week after the discovery; both were charged with murder. Prosecutors alleged the pair lured Keitt to the secluded location. Evidence introduced during the case included Hyatt’s phone near the scene, communications from Hyatt to Keitt shortly before the body was found, text messages on Hyatt’s phone about disposing of Keitt’s phone and wallet and removing shell casings, and a fingerprint of Hyatt on Keitt’s vehicle.

In March 2024 a Kershaw County jury found Cam’ron Ezekiel Hyatt, then 21, guilty of Keitt’s murder; he is awaiting sentencing. The murder charge against Bennett remains pending and she was released on bond in August 2021; she has faced additional unrelated charges. The motive has not been publicly disclosed.

Did anyone know Thomas Keitt or have information about his movements in the days before January 15, 2020?