In the spring of 2020, a domestic dispute in Hopkins, South Carolina, escalated into a tragedy that claimed the lives of two women and left a family shattered. On the evening of Monday, April 20th, 28-year-old Kiara A. Richbow was at her home on South Partridge Circle with her two young daughters, her 76-year-old grandmother, Sarah Mae Richbow, and a niece.
The night took a terrifying turn when Dontrell Henry Rufus, Kiara's former partner and the father of her children, arrived at the residence uninvited.
Tensions mounted as Rufus began shouting at the front door. Despite attempts by his own cousin to de-escalate the volatile situation, Rufus forced his way into the home. Once inside, he opened fire, shooting Kiara twice and her grandmother, Sarah, once. Both women sustained gunshot wounds to their upper bodies and were rushed to a local hospital. Tragically, their injuries proved to be fatal, and both Kiara and Sarah Richbow died in the early morning hours of Tuesday, April 21, 2020.
Immediately following the shooting, a manhunt for Dontrell Rufus began. He had fled the scene, abandoning his truck in an attempt to cover his tracks and dispose of evidence connecting him to the crime. The Richland County Sheriff's Department sought the public's help in locating the armed and dangerous suspect. The search came to an end the next morning when deputies, responding to a report of a suspicious person, located and arrested Rufus on Broad River Road without incident.
Dontrell Rufus was subsequently charged with two counts of murder and one count of first-degree burglary. In September 2025, a Richland County jury found the 33-year-old guilty on all charges. For his crimes, the judge handed down a sentence of three life terms in the South Carolina Department of Corrections, ensuring he would be held accountable for the devastating loss of two lives.
