Donnie Birchfield (Lancaster County Detention Center).
A South Carolina man is behind bars for keeping four people captive in his basement for years, Palmetto State authorities say.
Donnie Ray Birchfield, Jr., 35, stands accused of myriad crimes, including four counts of false imprisonment, four counts of exploitation of a vulnerable adult, two counts of abuse of a vulnerable adult, two counts of domestic violence, and four counts of financial fraud, according to the South Carolina Attorney General”s Office.
Warrants in the case were recently released.
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“That’s a sick individual right there,” one of the defendant’s neighbors told Charlotte, North Carolina-based ABC and Telemundo affiliate WSOC. “He’s a sick person to do something like that.”
The horrific allegations concern a residence on Churchill Drive in Lancaster – a small town located a few miles due south of the border with their similarly-named northern neighboring state.
The investigation began on July 25, after Lancaster police were called in response to an “unattended death,” according to warrants obtained by The Post and Courier. By Aug. 1, Birchfield was under arrest.
One of the alleged captives died; she was married, and the defendant was the sole caregiver to her and her husband. Authorities are unclear how Birchfield knew the couple, according to the warrants.
Birchfield is also alleged to have denied the husband access to sustenance and medical necessities, law enforcement say.
The two other victims were women with whom the defendant was romantically involved, the court documents allege. One woman had been living with Birchfield since September 2024; the other woman had been living in the house since 2015, authorities allege.
Birchfield is said to have controlled the victims’ movement – only allowing them out of the basement when he allowed. This level of control extended to when the victims ate and used the bathroom, authorities claim.
Each victim’s cell phone was controlled by the defendant in order to keep them from calling for help, authorities say. And, at least one of Birchfield’s so-called “romantic” partners was regularly strangled, according to law enforcement. These routine punishments caused her to fear for her life, authorities continued.
Adding to the woman’s apparent fear was a comment the defendant allegedly made about prior experience with disposing a human body, according to the warrants.
Birchfield also committed extensive financial crimes against the couple in his care, authorities say. This scheme involved years of using the couple’s credit and debit cards to pay for at least $2,000 in online Walmart purchases dating back to 2021. At least 32 such purchases were made “solely for the listed suspect’s use and not for the victim,” a local police report obtained by the Post & Courier alleges.
This year, however, the spending apparently ramped up.
In the eight months of 2025, Birchfield allegedly spent in excess of $11,800 from the couple’s bank account to pay off his own debts, police say.
Officers say the investigation is ongoing and could lead to additional charges.
Birchfield is being detained without bail at the Lancaster County Detention Center.
