Just four days after graduating from Hilton Head Island High School with high academic honors, 18-year-old Trey Blackshear was found shot to death in the driver's seat of his car on December 23, 2019. The male victim, a promising star soccer player with scholarship offers, was discovered in the parking lot of the Lord of Life Lutheran Church along Buckwalter Parkway in Bluffton, South Carolina, having sustained multiple gunshot wounds.
The incident, which occurred in the early afternoon, was not connected to the church itself.
The investigation soon revealed that Blackshear had arranged to meet individuals for a marijuana deal. Two males, later identified as 16-year-olds Terrance Wing and Xavier Da’Quan Barnes, entered the backseat of Blackshear's vehicle in an attempt to rob him. During the robbery, they opened fire, striking Blackshear in the head and shoulder. A friend who was with Blackshear in the passenger seat reportedly fired two shots in self-defense. After the shooting, the two gunmen fled on foot across the street to a gas station and then to a credit union, where they got into a light-colored sedan and were driven away from the scene.
The subsequent police investigation led them to the getaway car, which was found at a residence in Beaufort. A raid on the home uncovered more than 20 people, along with a significant cache of weapons including 10 handguns, several rifles, and narcotics. This led to several arrests in connection with the murder. Terrance Wing and Xavier Da’Quan Barnes were both charged with murder and were ordered to be tried as adults. Two others, Jaesean Jeffrey Redd, then 20, and Kionna Michele Ferguson, then 19, were charged with accessory after the fact. Ferguson was identified as the driver of the getaway vehicle. A fourth suspect, another 16-year-old male, was also arrested.
In April 2024, Terrance Wing was convicted of murder and sentenced to approximately 37 years in prison. The trial for the second accused shooter, Xavier Da’Quan Barnes, had not been scheduled as of mid-2025. The cases against Redd and Ferguson took a different path. Their initial charges were dismissed in March 2021 pending further investigation but were reinstated in late 2024 after new evidence came to light. In July 2025, Jaesean Jeffrey Redd and Kionna Michele Ferguson pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact. They both received suspended sentences and were sentenced to five years of probation, avoiding prison time on the condition they adhere to the terms of their probation.
