On a summer evening in Kershaw, South Carolina, Brenda Maria Coates, a 54-year-old woman, was found deceased in her car from a single gunshot wound to the neck. The events of June 17, 2018, unfolded at the intersection of U.S. Highway 521 and Catoe Road, leaving a community in shock and a family in mourning.
Investigators soon focused on Stacey McClintock Catoe, who was 43 at the time. It was revealed that the man in the car with Coates was Catoe's husband.
Sources indicated that Catoe had discovered her husband with Coates, leading to the fatal confrontation. Authorities located a. 380 pistol in Catoe's vehicle, and ballistics testing confirmed it was the weapon used in the shooting. Further investigation of phone records uncovered threatening messages sent from Catoe to Coates in the weeks prior to the incident. Catoe turned herself in to law enforcement on June 21, 2018.
Stacey McClintock Catoe was charged with the murder of Brenda Coates. During her trial, the prosecution presented evidence of a troubled marriage filled with infidelity. The defense argued that Catoe feared for her life, claiming her husband was abusive. However, no weapon was found on her husband at the scene. Text messages presented in court also suggested a complex relationship, indicating that Catoe had also expressed feelings for Coates.
In October 2024, a Kershaw County jury found Stacey McClintock Catoe guilty of murder. Coates' children, who were present throughout the trial, remembered their mother as an imperfect but loving woman. Before her sentencing, Catoe apologized, stating she never intended to kill anyone. The judge sentenced her to 35 years in the South Carolina Department of Corrections for the murder of Brenda Coates.
