On a Friday in January 2016, just one day before she would have celebrated her 79th birthday, Frances 'Mae' Davis was fatally shot while sitting in her car in the parking lot of the Myrtle Beach Mall. She had been shopping with her daughter, who went into a J.C. Penney store while she waited in the vehicle. When her daughter returned about 15 minutes later, she discovered her mother slumped over in the front passenger seat, unconscious, with her purse and cell phone missing.
For more
than four years, the case remained cold, with no suspects identified or arrests made, causing great distress to her family who pleaded for information. The investigation was eventually declared 'administratively closed' by the Horry County Police Department. During this time, Davis's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Myrtle Beach Mall, alleging inadequate security. The lawsuit claimed the mall was aware of previous violent crimes in the area and failed to provide a safe environment for visitors.
In a significant breakthrough in February 2020, authorities announced the arrest of a suspect. Dominique Hemingway, a 26-year-old from Tabor City, North Carolina, was charged with murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, and armed robbery in connection with Davis's death. Information from a community member reportedly led investigators to Hemingway, who was already in custody on charges related to other robberies in the Myrtle Beach area. The arrest brought a long-awaited sense of progress for Davis's family, who expressed their gratitude to the police for their persistent work on the case.
