In a tragic turn of events on a Saturday morning in Columbia, South Carolina, a domestic dispute escalated into a violent episode that left two people dead and a community in shock. Travis Cornelius Smith, a 32-year-old Black man, and Sherron Jean Hutchinson, 35, were found shot to death in their home on Robney Drive on February 8, 2020. The Richland County Coroner's Office confirmed that both Smith and Hutchinson died from gunshot wounds to their upper bodies.
Smith, a truck driver for a moving company, was known for his willingness to help others and his devotion to his family.
The grim discovery was made by Richland County Sheriff's deputies who were responding to a call of shots fired in the area. The investigation quickly unfolded into a complex and disturbing story involving a relative of the victims. A woman contacted authorities, stating she had been taken hostage by a family member after he had killed two of his relatives. She managed to escape and alert law enforcement. The suspect had also kidnapped another woman, who was later found and taken to a hospital for treatment of injuries she sustained during an assault.
Authorities identified the suspect as 20-year-old Ontrell Dashuan Martin, a relative of the deceased. Following an intense search, Martin was located and arrested in neighboring Lexington County later that same day. The motive for the killings has not been publicly released.
Ontrell Dashuan Martin was charged with two counts of murder for the deaths of Travis Smith and Sherron Hutchinson. In addition to the murder charges, he faced two counts of kidnapping, attempted murder, first-degree assault and battery, and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. The attempted murder charge stemmed from an incident where Martin allegedly tried to run over a pedestrian while fleeing the scene of the homicides. He was booked into the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center and held without bond. The case is being handled by the Richland County Sheriff's Department.
