In the winter of 2019, the quiet of the Woodland Village apartment complex in Columbia, South Carolina, was shattered by an act of violence that claimed the life of 27-year-old Duwan E. Williams and two others. On the morning of December 17th, what began as an ordinary day ended in a triple homicide that would deeply affect the community. Duwan, along with his roommates Branton T. Booker, 28, and Sheldon D.
Livingston, 26, were fatally shot inside their apartment on Butternut Lane.
The events unfolded around 11 a.m. when two men, later identified as Justin Tyler Ellaree Hopkins, 21, and Jeremy Savoy Cornish, 38, arrived at the apartment. When Booker opened the door, he was immediately shot. The assailants then entered the residence and opened fire on Williams and Livingston while they were sleeping. A fourth individual inside the apartment managed to escape unharmed and called 911, providing crucial initial information to the Lexington County Sheriff's Department. While Booker and Livingston were pronounced dead at the scene, Williams was rushed to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. Autopsies would later confirm that all three men died from multiple gunshot wounds to their upper bodies.
The investigation into the triple homicide moved swiftly. Witnesses reported seeing a man matching Hopkins' description fleeing the scene and getting into a truck driven by Cornish. This lead, combined with other evidence, quickly established them as primary suspects. Hopkins was apprehended following a traffic stop after investigators observed him leaving his apartment with duffle bags. A search of those bags revealed a t-shirt stained with Duwan Williams' blood and ammunition that matched casings found at the crime scene.
Cornish was arrested a short time later by the U.S. Marshals Service's fugitive task force. Both he and Hopkins were charged with three counts of murder and first-degree burglary. In October 2022, after a three-week trial, juries found both men guilty on all charges. The court sentenced both Jeremy Savoy Cornish and Justin Tyler Ellaree Hopkins to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murders, ensuring they would be held accountable for the devastating loss of three young lives.
