In the early hours of a Tuesday in February, the quiet of Jenkinsville, a community near Winnsboro, South Carolina, was shattered by gunfire. Responding to reports of shots fired shortly after 1 a.m. on February 7, 2023, deputies from the Fairfield County Sheriff's Office arrived at a residence on Marsh Lane to a grim discovery. Inside the home, they found the bodies of two young men, both victims of a fatal shooting.
One of the victims was identified as Malik Butler, a 22-year-old Black
male from Jenkinsville. The other victim was 23-year-old Theron Byrd of Winnsboro. The case was immediately investigated as a double homicide, with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division crime scene unit called in to assist the local sheriff's office. Both Butler and Byrd were former members of the Fairfield Central High School football team.
The investigation into the deaths of the two men pressed on, and within a month, a significant development occurred. On March 2, 2023, authorities arrested 20-year-old Caleb Beryl Davis in connection with the murders of Butler and Byrd. At the time he was charged with the two murders, Davis was already incarcerated at the Fairfield County Detention Center on an unrelated charge.
Further investigation revealed that at the time of the double homicide, Caleb Davis was out on bond for a previous murder charge. This information raised questions and concerns within the community. While an arrest has been made, the motive for the killings has not been publicly disclosed.
