Tom DiLorenzo

Thomas Michael DiLorenzo, a 63-year-old White man and distinguished academic, had recently retired and moved to Charleston, South Carolina, with his wife, Suzanne Austin. The couple had relocated just a few weeks earlier for her new position as provost at the College of Charleston. DiLorenzo himself had just stepped down in June 2020 after seven years as the provost and vice president of academic affairs at the University of North Dakota, where colleagues remembered him as a collaborative leader and analytical problem-solver.

In the early morning of July 17, 2020, DiLorenzo and his wife were out for a walk in downtown Charleston. At approximately 6:15 a.m., near the intersection of King and Clifford streets, two individuals approached them and demanded money. One was armed with a handgun. During the attempted robbery, DiLorenzo was shot. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died from a gunshot wound at 6:50 a.m. His wife was not physically injured in the attack.

The sudden, violent crime shocked the Charleston community and prompted an intensive investigation by local and state law enforcement. Police soon determined the shooting was part of a brief crime spree involving a stolen vehicle and two other armed robberies that morning. Within a day, authorities arrested three teenagers in connection with the case: two aged 15 and one aged 16.

The Charleston solicitor's office chose to try the teens as adults. Travis Jermaine Wilson Jr., who was 15 at the time, and Darcellus Fishburne, then 16, were charged with murder and armed robbery. A third teen, Jaylen Grant, faced charges as the alleged driver. The prosecution contended that Wilson was the one who fired the fatal shot.

The cases proceeded through the court system over the next several years. Darcellus Fishburne pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 45 years in prison. Charges against Jaylen Grant were still pending as of mid-2026.

Travis Wilson’s case concluded differently. After a series of competency hearings where mental health experts testified that Wilson had a low IQ and "significant cognitive limitations," a judge ruled him mentally incompetent to stand trial. That decision was made in July 2026.