In the quiet town of Batesburg, South Carolina, a tragic story unfolded in March of 2021, culminating in the death of 48-year-old Rufus E. Carmichael. His body was discovered on the side of a road, but the events leading to this grim finding began with a family dispute that spiraled into a double homicide.
The day before his death, Rufus Carmichael had a heated argument with his brother, Charles Jason Carmichael. This disagreement proved to be fatal.
On the morning of March 13, 2021, Charles rented a U-Haul truck and drove to his brother's home in West Columbia. There, he kidnapped Rufus at gunpoint.
The tragic events continued to escalate. After kidnapping his brother, Charles drove him to his own residence on Koon Road and shot him. Later that day, Rufus's partner, Ashli G. Haigler, grew concerned when she couldn't reach him. With her 5-year-old son in tow, she went to Charles's home in search of Rufus. In a devastating turn of events, Charles lured Ashli to a dead-end road where he shot her twice in the upper body. Her young son, who was in the vehicle at the time, was unharmed and bravely sought help by knocking on doors in the neighborhood.
Following the murders, Charles drove the U-Haul to Aiken County and left his brother's body in a field in Batesburg, where it was later discovered. Law enforcement, alerted by residents who found the distressed child, quickly connected the two deaths. They located and arrested Charles Carmichael in the blood-covered U-Haul. Inside the truck, they found a trash bag containing blood-soaked towels and the murder weapon.
In December 2022, a Richland County jury found Charles Jason Carmichael guilty of two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. He was sentenced to life in prison for the brutal murders of his brother, Rufus Carmichael, and his brother's partner, Ashli Haigler. The investigation revealed a history of threats Charles had made against his brother, and a witness testified that she was with Charles the night before as he planned the killing.
