In the quiet early hours of a Wednesday morning in Aiken, South Carolina, a series of events unfolded that would leave a family and a community reeling. Just after midnight on July 21, 2021, the sound of gunshots pierced the night on Moon Shadow Street. Multiple calls to 911 brought a New Ellenton Police Department officer to a residence where a grim discovery was made.
Inside the home, 28-year-old Stacey Judge was found on the floor, having sustained at least one fatal gunshot wound.
Emergency medical services arrived at the scene, but it was too late; Stacey Judge was pronounced dead. The Aiken County Sheriff's Office immediately launched a homicide investigation into the death of the male victim. Despite their efforts, investigators were unable to immediately identify any suspects or determine a clear motive for the shooting. The authorities appealed to the public for any information that might lead to an arrest, offering a cash reward for tips provided through Midlands Crime Stoppers.
The tragedy for the Judge family compounded unimaginably the very next day. In a separate incident, Stacey's younger brother, 25-year-old Stashaun Judge, was also fatally shot. He was discovered unresponsive at an apartment complex in the nearby city of North Augusta. This second killing in as many days left the community in shock and fueled speculation about a possible connection between the two brothers' deaths. Rumors circulated within the community suggesting the killings could be revenge for stolen pit bulls, but law enforcement officials did not publicly confirm this or any other motive.
As the investigations into both homicides continued, no arrests were made in either case. The Aiken County Sheriff's Office, handling Stacey Judge's case, and the North Augusta Department of Public Safety, investigating Stashaun Judge's death, were left with two unsolved murders. Authorities did not release any information to officially link the two fatal shootings, leaving a grieving family and a concerned community without answers. The cases of Stacey and Stashaun Judge remain a stark and painful reminder of the devastating impact of gun violence.
