In the spring of 2017, the life of 18-year-old Keon Malik Brantley was tragically cut short in a brutal act of violence that has left a community searching for answers. On the night of April 15th, firefighters in Columbia, South Carolina, responded to a call of a brush fire in the Harbison area and made a grim discovery: the body of a young man who had been shot and then set on fire. That young man was later identified as Keon Malik Brantley, a recent graduate of Irmo High School.
An autopsy would later confirm that the cause of death was a gunshot wound.
Investigators from the Lexington County Sheriff's Department pieced together some of Brantley's last known moments through surveillance footage. He was seen leaving his apartment around 9 p.m. on the night of his death, carrying a large box that contained a legally purchased AK-47 rifle. While the rifle was recovered at the scene, investigators do not believe it was the weapon used to kill him. Several of Brantley's personal belongings were missing, including a hooded sweatshirt, a backpack, and his size 8 Nike Air Foamposites. Authorities have expressed that these items could be crucial in solving the case.
In the years that have followed, the investigation into Keon Malik Brantley's murder has remained ongoing. Despite the efforts of law enforcement and the pleas of his grieving family for anyone with information to come forward, no arrests have been made in connection with his death. His parents have spoken publicly about their profound loss and their desperate hope for justice for their son. The case of who killed Keon Malik Brantley and why remains an unsolved homicide, leaving a painful void in the lives of his loved ones and a lingering question in the community he called home.
