In the quiet setting of the Godwin Mobile Home Park in Burton, South Carolina, a violent scene unfolded on the evening of February 24, 2022. Christian Manuel Hernandez Hernandez, a 29-year-old Hispanic male, was at his residence eating dinner with his wife when the normalcy of the evening was shattered. Without warning, his 22-year-old stepson, Daniel Adame-Guatemala, emerged from a bathroom and opened fire with a 9mm handgun.
Hernandez's wife attempted to intervene, but Adame-Guatemala continued to shoot around her, striking his stepfather multiple times.
First responders arrived at the Joe Frazier Road mobile home shortly before 8 p.m. to find Hernandez suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Despite their efforts, he was pronounced dead at the scene. In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Adame-Guatemala fled the residence in a family pickup truck before law enforcement could arrive, sparking an intense and lengthy manhunt. Warrants were quickly issued for his arrest on charges of murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.
The investigation revealed that Adame-Guatemala had managed to escape to Mexico, where he had relatives. His time as a fugitive extended as he later moved to South America, eluding the collaborative efforts of the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office, the U.S. Marshals Service, and Mexican authorities. For over a year, Adame-Guatemala remained at large. His run from the law came to an end in July 2023, when he was captured by United States Customs and Border Protection while attempting to illegally cross the border in Hidalgo County, Texas.
After waiving extradition, Adame-Guatemala was transported back to South Carolina in August 2023 to face the charges against him. The legal process culminated in April 2025, when Daniel Adame-Guatemala, then 25, entered an Alford plea to the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter, as well as pleading guilty to possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. A judge sentenced him to 20 years in prison for the death of his stepfather, bringing a resolution to a case that had stretched across international borders.
