Greg Baughman was a 43-year-old White man, a respected United States Marine Corps veteran, and a supervisor for UPS. A master gunnery sergeant in the Marine Corps Reserve, he had served two deployments in Iraq and two in Afghanistan. In Aiken, South Carolina, he was also known as the co-owner of the Hitchcock Animal Hospital, a business he established with his wife in 2020, combining her veterinary skills with his management experience.
On the evening of December 1, 2024, his life came
to a violent end. Aiken County Sheriff's Office deputies were called to a home on Prides Crossing around 5 p.m. for a domestic-related incident. Inside, they found Greg Baughman lying on the floor with multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 6:30 p.m. An arrest warrant would later state that he had been shot "multiple times in the back and multiple while he was lying on the floor." Investigators recovered a black handgun from the kitchen counter and found several spent bullet casings on the floor.
The sole suspect, who was present when deputies arrived, was Baughman’s estranged wife, Dr. Jennifer Kerri Ray, a 44-year-old veterinarian. She was immediately taken into custody. The couple had been experiencing significant marital turmoil, having separated on August 29, 2024. Just weeks before his death, on October 25, Baughman had filed for legal separation. In his filing, he was not seeking alimony but had requested a court order to prevent the depletion of their marital assets.
Ray was charged with murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. During an initial court hearing, her attorney claimed she had been a victim of domestic abuse, alleging that she had been hospitalized for her injuries the previous month. The attorney stated that Ray did not press charges at the time out of fear it would jeopardize her husband's military career. Her legal team expressed an "unwavering denial on the charge of murder" and their intent to address the matter in circuit court.
Initially held at the Aiken County Detention Center without bond, Ray was granted bond in February 2025 by Judge Donna Hutto Williamson. The conditions of her release included house arrest, electronic monitoring, and a no-contact order with Greg Baughman's family. As of February 2025, the case was proceeding through the court system.
