Joe Stacy was a hardworking contractor and a fun-loving man who enjoyed hosting cookouts and pool parties for friends and family. The 52-year-old White male was known for always helping people and doing what he could for everyone. He had provided a home for his stepson on Restful Lane, in a quiet area near Conway, South Carolina.
On the afternoon of June 17, 2024, as his family was preparing to attend a funeral service for another relative, Stacy’s sister went to his house and made a
devastating discovery. She found him lying on his kitchen floor in a pool of blood. An autopsy later confirmed he had died from a single gunshot wound to the back of his head. Horry County Police Department officers responded to the home and launched a homicide investigation.
The only other person present in the residence when authorities arrived was Stacy’s 22-year-old stepson, Tyler Mitchell Denno. Investigators arrested Denno in connection with the killing. A search of Denno’s bedroom uncovered a safe containing a handgun. Ballistic tests later confirmed that shell casings found at the crime scene had been fired from that weapon. Officers also found marijuana, scales, and packaging bags in the room.
Denno was charged with murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, and a drug manufacturing charge. He was taken to the J. Reuben Long Detention Center. During a bond hearing in September 2024, Denno’s mother, Brandy Stacy, pleaded with the judge not to release him. She testified that she feared for her other two sons and alleged that Denno had hit her and threatened to kill her on the same day his stepfather was murdered. The judge denied bond, ordering Denno to remain in jail.
In January 2025, Denno’s defense attorney requested that his client undergo a mental health evaluation, telling the court they believed he was not in the right state of mind on the day of the shooting. A judge granted the request, ordering Denno to be evaluated at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. As of January 2025, the murder proceedings have been temporarily put on hold pending the results of the evaluation.
