In February 2016, a welfare check prompted by a six-year-old child not being picked up from school led to the discovery of a tragic scene in a Columbia, South Carolina apartment. Inside the residence on Amsterdam Drive, Richland County sheriff's deputies found the bodies of 34-year-old Stephanie C. Wallace and her estranged husband, 32-year-old Keith Wallace.
The discovery was made after a school resource officer, receiving no answer at the door but hearing a television inside, had a maintenance worker open the apartment.
Investigators determined that Stephanie C. Wallace died from a gunshot wound to the head. Her death was ruled a homicide. Keith Wallace was found to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. The evidence led authorities to conclude that Keith Wallace shot and killed his estranged wife before taking his own life in what was deemed an apparent murder-suicide.
At the time of the incident, law enforcement had not determined a specific motive that precipitated the violent encounter. The investigation into the precise sequence of events surrounding the shootings was ongoing. The couple's child, whose absence from school initiated the police response, was subsequently cared for by authorities.
