On a September evening in 2018, the life of 25-year-old Eddie Michael Thomas, a male resident of Taylors, South Carolina, was tragically cut short. On September 6th, authorities found Thomas deceased from multiple gunshot wounds in what was ruled a homicide. For months, his family waited for answers, a period of uncertainty and grief that weighed heavily upon them.
The investigation into Thomas's death led authorities to three individuals who were known to him.
More than eight months after the shooting, the Greenville County Sheriff's Office announced the arrests of Candiss Marie Robinson, then 37, and cousins Devageo Talley, 24, and Jonathan Antwan Talley, 25. All three were charged with murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime.
According to investigators, on the night of the incident, Robinson and the Talley cousins were in a gold Chevrolet Tahoe when they encountered Thomas, an acquaintance, and persuaded him to get into the vehicle. An exchange inside the car reportedly led to Thomas jumping out and attempting to flee. It was at this point that all three suspects are said to have opened fire, fatally wounding him at the scene.
Following their arrests, the suspects began to face the legal system. Candiss Marie Robinson was arrested and held at the Greenville County Detention Center. The Talley cousins were already in custody at the Spartanburg County Detention Center on unrelated charges and awaited transfer to Greenville County. During an emotional bond hearing for Robinson, the victim's sister was overcome with grief and had to be removed from the courtroom. A judge denied bond for Robinson. Later, at a separate hearing, Jonathan Talley was also denied bond. The mother of Eddie Michael Thomas spoke in court, expressing the profound pain of losing her son in such a brutal manner.
