In the quiet, early morning hours of May 23, 2019, the tranquility of a country road in Campobello, South Carolina, was shattered by a fatal act of violence that claimed the life of 44-year-old Sherland Scott Frye. Frye, an African American man, was discovered with a gunshot wound, his body lying in the road next to a pickup truck on Patterson Road.
The Spartanburg County Coroner's Office was called to the scene and pronounced him dead at 2:38 a.m.
The events leading to Frye's death stemmed from a personal dispute with a man who had been his friend for over a decade, 63-year-old Wayne Lee Fowler of Inman, South Carolina. In a shocking turn of events, it was Fowler himself who dialed 911 to report the shooting, confessing to the dispatcher that he had shot the victim. He remained at the scene until Spartanburg County deputies arrived. Upon their arrival, deputies found Fowler standing beside a pickup truck, with Frye lying in the road in front of it.
Fowler was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office for questioning. He told investigators that Frye had made threats against his family, which prompted him to seek Frye out. Fowler admitted that he had gone to Frye's residence earlier that night and informed family members of his intent to kill him. He then located Frye walking down the road and shot him. The weapon used in the shooting was recovered from inside Fowler's truck.
Wayne Lee Fowler was arrested and charged with murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. He was subsequently booked into the Spartanburg County Detention Center where he was held without bond. The community was left in a state of shock and mourning, struggling to comprehend how a long-standing friendship could culminate in such a senseless and tragic act. Sherland Scott Frye was remembered as a kind person and a loving father to his children.
