In a tragic turn of events that shook the community of Laurens, South Carolina, 24-year-old Marlene Grace Ables, a White/Caucasian female, lost her life in a fatal shooting on November 25, 2023. At the time of her death, she was approximately six to seven months pregnant with a daughter she had planned to name Skarlett.
The incident occurred at a residence on Highway 14 near the Barksdale community.
Responding to a call, deputies from the Laurens County Sheriff's Office discovered Marlene with a gunshot wound to her chest. Both she and her unborn child were pronounced dead at the scene.
Initially, the circumstances surrounding the shooting were presented as accidental by 21-year-old Camrin Jay Smith, who was present at the scene and identified as Marlene's fiancé. Smith was taken into custody and initially charged with involuntary manslaughter and unlawful possession of a weapon.
However, as the investigation progressed, authorities uncovered evidence suggesting the shooting was not accidental. It was later determined that Smith had intentionally pulled the trigger. Further investigation revealed that after the shooting, Smith waited an undetermined amount of time before contacting 911, and had first made a call to his father.
Based on these findings, the charges against Camrin Jay Smith were upgraded to two counts of murder—one for the death of Marlene and another for her unborn daughter—in addition to possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime and possession of an illegal sawed-off rifle.
Following a weeklong trial in June 2025, a Laurens County jury found Camrin Jay Smith, then 25, guilty on all charges. He was subsequently sentenced to 45 years in prison for each of the murder charges, to be served concurrently. Under South Carolina law, Smith is not eligible for parole. The sentencing, which coincided with what would have been Marlene's 26th birthday, brought a measure of closure to a case that had deeply affected the community.
