Cornelius Smith, a 51-year-old Black man from Georgetown, South Carolina, spent his life in the same community where he was born on June 27, 1971. He grew up in the Georgetown County public schools and was known by the nickname “Cono” among family and friends. As an adult, he built a reputation as a skilled tree worker, described in his obituary as a certified tree cutter who worked for Georgetown Tree Services and K&M Tree Services, the kind of “tree doctor” whose coworkers admired how
effortlessly he climbed and handled difficult jobs. He was a father, a fiancé, a brother, and a son, surrounded by a large extended family in the area, and his funeral was held at Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church in the Choppee community, underscoring his deep local roots.
In the early morning hours of August 30, 2022, the quiet along Prince Street in Georgetown was broken by a disturbance that drew the attention of neighbors. A witness later told police she heard insistent knocking at the door, followed by a male voice outside cursing and demanding to be let in. When she opened the door, she saw a man in a hoodie, his face mostly obscured except for his eyes, walking down the steps and shouting, asking where Smith was. A short time later, as Smith returned from a nearby store, he encountered the man in front of the residence. What began as a heated argument on the porch quickly escalated, with the man believed to be Stevion Marsh throwing the first punch, according to the incident report. The confrontation turned into a struggle; the witness said Marsh pulled out a knife, while Smith grabbed his arm, and the two men grappled and fell to the ground as the situation spiraled out of control.
Police were dispatched at about 1:00 a.m. to 2521 Prince Street for a reported disturbance and shots fired. When officers arrived, they found Smith lying in the yard with serious injuries. An incident report later noted that he had been shot four times in his left leg, had a bite mark on his left shoulder, and suffered cuts on his forehead and left temple. A woman was at his side, trying to talk to him and keep him awake as officers worked quickly to bandage his wounds while waiting for EMS. He was rushed first to Georgetown Memorial Hospital and then transferred to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, but despite those efforts he died later that day from his injuries.
As investigators processed the scene and interviewed witnesses, attention turned to identifying the man seen fighting with Smith. Later on August 30, the Georgetown Police Department issued an update naming 25-year-old Stevion Marsh as the suspect and announcing that a warrant had been issued charging him with murder. Marsh was described as armed and dangerous, and the public was urged to contact police or a tip line with any information about his whereabouts. The following night, law enforcement officers in Darlington County located and arrested him; news reports described him being taken into custody there before being brought back to Georgetown County to face the murder charge connected to Smith’s death.
Booking records from Georgetown County show that Stevieon Deshawn Marsh, age 25, was booked on August 31, 2022, on a charge of murder and an additional charge related to possessing a weapon during a violent crime. Those records emphasize that an arrest and booking do not imply guilt, and available public sources identify him as the subject-suspect in the case, listed as “unharmed, arrested” in connection with the shooting that killed Smith. As of the latest accessible information, publicly available reports detail his arrest and the charges he faces, but do not describe a completed trial or verdict in the case. Meanwhile, friends and family have continued to honor Smith online and in memorials, remembering him as a hardworking, kindhearted man who loved his community and whose loss left a lasting void in Georgetown.
