On May 26, 2018, a violent confrontation occurred at a residence on East Circle Lane in Florence, South Carolina, resulting in the death of 38-year-old Michael Ingersoll. The incident began with a heated argument between Ingersoll and a 28-year-old acquaintance named Bryan Austin Seidle. As the dispute escalated, the situation turned fatal when Seidle produced a firearm and shot Ingersoll multiple times.
Ingersoll sustained four gunshot wounds to his head and torso, and despite the arrival of emergency responders, he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Law enforcement officers from the Florence County Sheriff's Office responded quickly to the shooting. An investigation was immediately launched, and the Florence County Coroner confirmed the victim's identity and cause of death following an autopsy at the Medical University of South Carolina. Investigators identified Seidle as the primary suspect in the homicide. The following day, May 27, 2018, authorities arrested Seidle and booked him into the Florence County Detention Center, where he was charged with murder in connection with Ingersoll's death.
The legal proceedings against Seidle continued for over two years. On October 23, 2020, he appeared before Judge Michael Nettles in the 12th Judicial Circuit Court for sentencing. Seidle was convicted of murder and received a sentence of 30 years in prison. The court granted him credit for the 882 days he had already spent in custody since his initial arrest. During the appeals process that followed, the defense argued that the trial court had erred by excluding evidence regarding Ingersoll's status as a registered sex offender, claiming this omission affected the defense's case. However, in 2024, the South Carolina Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence, ruling that the exclusion of such evidence was not an error that warranted overturning the verdict.
