Dana Marie Kinlaw, 40, was found dead on a rural road in Effingham, South Carolina on January 22, 2026. She had traveled to Atlantic Road near Springbranch Road believing she was meeting someone to buy a puppy; a 19-year-old acquaintance, Iryanna Jarissa Fleming, accompanied her. Upon arrival Kinlaw was shot and her body was then set on fire inside her vehicle. First responders discovered her remains while extinguishing the blaze.

The Florence County Sheriff’s Office arrested three people in connection with the slaying: Iryanna Jarissa Fleming, 31-year-old Daquinn Taheen Thomas and 31-year-old Nikko Carraway. Each faces charges of murder, arson and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime and is being held without bond at the Florence County Detention Center. Authorities say the killing appears to have been retaliatory and connected to a separate homicide in neighboring Darlington County involving Kinlaw’s son. The investigation is ongoing.

If anyone has information about the meeting on Atlantic Road or saw a vehicle matching Kinlaw’s that day, please share what is known.