On Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 2022, law enforcement officers in Orangeburg, South Carolina, made a grim discovery during a welfare check at a residence on Louise Drive. Concerned family members had requested the check after being unable to reach 46-year-old Crystal Hope Jumper, a White female, who had not been heard from in several weeks. Upon entering the home, deputies found Jumper deceased from a gunshot wound to the upper body.
While her body was discovered in late November, investigators determined that she had likely been killed weeks earlier, on November 1, 2022.
The investigation immediately pivoted to a search for Jumper's five-year-old daughter, Aspen, who suffered from a rare neurological disorder that prevented her from walking or talking. The child was missing from the home, along with Jumper's blue Mazda sedan. Authorities identified the child's father, Antar Antonio Jeter, then 46 years old, as the primary suspect. A frantic multi-state search ensued, fueled by concerns for the vulnerable child's safety. Sightings of the suspect were reported in North Carolina, leading investigators to track his financial transactions.
The manhunt concluded on December 9, 2022, when law enforcement located Jeter and the missing child in a hospital parking lot in Danville, Virginia. Jeter was taken into custody without incident, and the child was found safe and subsequently reunited with family members. Jeter was charged with murder and larceny of a motor vehicle before being extradited back to South Carolina to face the legal system.
In August 2025, the legal proceedings against Antar Jeter came to a close at the Orangeburg County Courthouse. Rather than facing a trial for murder, Jeter pleaded guilty to a charge of voluntary manslaughter. The court sentenced him to 30 years in prison, the maximum penalty allowed for that specific charge. During the hearing, Jumper's family expressed relief that Jeter accepted responsibility for his actions, sparing them the anguish of a prolonged trial, though they lamented the senseless tragedy that claimed the life of a beloved mother.
