On the night of October 8, 2016, tragedy struck at a residence on East Killarney Drive in Moore, South Carolina, resulting in the untimely death of Thompson Kotlarich Demas. The 20-year-old White male, a former student of Paul M. Dorman High School and Fort Mill High School, was at his home when a group of intruders initiated an armed robbery. According to investigators, the young man attempted to intervene and stop the robbery unfolding in his garage.
During the confrontation, he was fired upon by multiple assailants. He sustained a gunshot wound to the leg and was fatally shot twice in the back. The perpetrators fled the scene immediately after the shooting, leaving him critically injured.
His body was discovered in the garage around 4:00 a.m., prompting a homicide investigation by the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office. Deputies and forensic teams processed the scene, determining that the fatal wounds were those to his back. The investigation quickly identified that multiple individuals were involved in the crime, leading authorities to characterize the suspects as armed and dangerous teenagers. In the days following the murder, investigators worked to track down those responsible, eventually arresting four suspects in connection with the deadly home invasion.
Two of the primary suspects were identified as Carnellious D. Stringer and Keshawn M. Rice, both of whom were teenagers at the time of the offense. Legal proceedings revealed that Stringer was the individual who fired the fatal shots into the victim's back, while Rice had shot him in the leg. In February 2018, Carnellious Stringer pleaded guilty to charges of murder and armed robbery, receiving a 30-year prison sentence for his role in the slaying. Later that same year, in November, Keshawn Rice faced a three-day jury trial where he was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter, armed robbery, and first-degree burglary. He was subsequently sentenced to 30 years in prison, required to serve at least 85 percent of his term before becoming eligible for release.
As of the conclusion of Rice's trial in late 2018, charges were still pending against two additional suspects linked to the case, whose identities were part of the broader investigation into the group that targeted the home. The loss was particularly devastating for the victim's family, as Thompson was reportedly the second son in the family to lose his life to armed robbers. The community and former classmates mourned the death of the young man, who was remembered for his athletic ability and friendly personality.
