In the late summer of 2017, the quiet community of Galivants Ferry, South Carolina, was rocked by a tragedy that would leave a family shattered and a case that would take years to unfold in the justice system. On September 14, 2017, authorities responded to a call about a cardiac arrest at a home on Twilight Road. What they discovered inside was far more sinister.
Twenty-six-year-old Dexter Cobb and his 25-year-old sister, Porscha Cobb, were found dead, having both suffered fatal gunshot wounds. First responders found Porscha bleeding from her face, and Dexter was located deceased in a bathroom.
The investigation into the double homicide led authorities to a suspect, Brandon Gore of Aynor. In November 2017, he was charged with two counts of murder. The case against Gore was reportedly built on the testimony of a witness who informed police that Gore had admitted to the killings, sharing details about the crime that were not publicly known at the time. This witness was later revealed to be Gore's own mother. Gore was arrested and his journey through the legal system began, marked by bond hearings and eventually, a trial.
After his arrest, Brandon Gore was initially denied bond. However, he was later granted bail in March 2018, a decision made against the wishes of the victims' family. His pretrial release was not without incident; he was arrested on a drug charge in January 2020, which constituted a violation of his bond. Despite this, he was again released on bond with home detention in the spring of 2020, a move partly influenced by efforts to reduce the jail population during the COVID-19 pandemic. He reportedly violated the terms of his home detention as well.
The trial for the murders of Dexter and Porscha Cobb commenced in September 2022. A critical point of contention during the trial was the recorded statement from Gore's mother, in which she implicated her son in the murders. The defense argued that she later recanted this statement, claiming she had lied in an attempt to get her son off drugs and away from a dangerous lifestyle. They also suggested she could have learned details of the crime from news reports. The prosecution countered that the initial information she provided was not publicly available at the time. After deliberations, the Horry County jury returned a verdict, acquitting Brandon Gore of all charges in the deaths of the Cobb siblings.
