In March of 2024, the life of 52-year-old Phonesia Miranda Machado-Fore, a dedicated paramedic and mother, was tragically cut short. A resident of the Lake View area in South Carolina, she was reported missing from her home in Marion County. The search for her ended in heartbreak on March 15th, when her body was discovered in neighboring Dillon County. An autopsy would later reveal that she had died from a gunshot wound.
The investigation into her death quickly took a cross-country turn.
Machado-Fore's vehicle was located in New Mexico, at the scene of a fatal shooting of a New Mexico State Police officer, Justin Hare. The suspect in Officer Hare's death, Jaremy Smith, a 33-year-old from Marion, South Carolina, was soon identified as a person of interest in Machado-Fore's murder. An extensive manhunt for Smith ensued, and he was eventually apprehended in Albuquerque, New Mexico, after a foot chase during which he was wounded by gunfire.
Following his capture, Jaremy Smith was charged with the murder of Officer Justin Hare and faced a life sentence without the possibility of parole after being convicted in New Mexico. In connection with the death of Phonesia Miranda Machado-Fore, seventeen arrest warrants were issued for Smith in South Carolina. The charges included murder, kidnapping, carjacking, burglary, and multiple weapons-related offenses.
Phonesia Machado-Fore was remembered by her colleagues at Florence County Emergency Medical Services as a compassionate and dedicated paramedic who had a servant's heart and genuinely loved people. Her death was a profound loss to her family, which includes her two daughters, and the community she served. While one chapter of justice was closed with Smith's conviction in New Mexico, her family continues to await the day he will face the charges for her murder in South Carolina.
