In the summer of 2018, the life of Tanya Michelle Richards, a 35-year-old Black woman from Roebuck, South Carolina, was tragically cut short. On July 22, she was discovered deceased inside her vehicle, which was parked outside Phresh Threads, a fashion boutique she co-owned in Wellford, a town in Spartanburg County. An investigation by the Spartanburg County Coroner's Office later confirmed that she had died from a gunshot wound to the head.
The investigation into her death quickly
focused on a single suspect: Derrick Burnside, her 45-year-old business partner and the father of one of her children. Authorities arrested Burnside and charged him with murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. Investigators believe the killing was the result of a domestic dispute, noting that Richards and Burnside had been in a long-term relationship and had lived together for several years. Following his arrest, Burnside was held at the Spartanburg County Detention Center.
Tanya, a 2001 graduate of James F. Byrnes High School, was remembered as a supervisor at Adidas in addition to being a business owner. She was a mother to two children, a son and a daughter. Her death left her family, including her mother and sister, and the wider community to grieve a life taken too soon.
