On a cold Christmas Eve in 2014, 43-year-old Mary Marie Fowler's life was tragically cut short in a senseless act of violence. She and her companion, James Jerry Dobson II, were traveling in Greenville County, South Carolina, when they stopped to offer a ride to a hitchhiker in the early morning hours. That hitchhiker was 22-year-old John Asher Farrell Villarreal, who had agreed to pay the couple $25 for a ride to the Georgia state line.
The journey took a horrific turn when Dobson
pulled the car over on Interstate 85 between mile markers 16 and 17, supposedly to let Villarreal use the restroom. Instead of getting out of the vehicle, Villarreal produced a handgun fitted with a homemade silencer and shot both Fowler and Dobson in the back of the head. Their bodies were later discovered on the side of the interstate by a passerby at approximately 6:15 a.m. Mary Marie Fowler succumbed to her injuries, while James Dobson was left in critical condition.
Following the brutal attack, Villarreal stole Dobson's Hyundai Elantra and fled to Georgia. He was even pulled over for speeding by a state trooper but was let go with a ticket. He later returned to the Greenville area and hid the stolen car at an abandoned property he referred to as his 'safe house' in Travelers Rest.
An investigation was launched, and on December 30, an Anderson County deputy spotted the stolen Hyundai. A search of the vehicle uncovered three firearms, including a rifle and two handguns with homemade silencers. Villarreal was arrested later that evening. He was subsequently charged with murder, attempted murder, carjacking, and possession of a weapon during a violent crime.
John Asher Farrell Villarreal ultimately pleaded guilty to all charges. For the murder of Mary Fowler, he was sentenced to life in prison. He also received 30-year sentences for the attempted murder of James Dobson and for carjacking, as well as a five-year sentence for the weapons charge.
