On September 30, 2006, Michael Anthony Simmons, 41, shot and killed his wife, 39-year-old Betra Rainey, and her four children in their North Charleston mobile home. The children were identified as 16-year-old William Rainey, 13-year-old Hakiem Rainey, 8-year-old Malachia Robinson, and 6-year-old Samenia Robinson. Simmons was not the biological father of the children; he and Rainey had been married a little more than a year when the domestic dispute turned deadly.

A witness discovered the bodies and alerted police. Simmons was located while attempting to flee in his vehicle and was charged with five counts of murder; he was denied bond at a subsequent hearing. He had a lengthy criminal history dating to 1984, including convictions in 1988 for armed robbery, assault and battery with intent to kill, and second-degree burglary, for which he served over 16 years and remained on parole until 2012.

In June 2008 a judge found Simmons mentally unfit to stand trial because of a dementia diagnosis and ordered indefinite confinement in a secure state mental hospital, a decision that deeply angered relatives who said they believed he was feigning illness. Does anyone have information about the family’s life in North Charleston or the events that led up to that night?