Michael Torrence: The Midlands Murderer
Overview
Michael Rian Torrence was an American serial killer who, with the help of his brother and sister-in-law, committed a brutal series of murders in South Carolina in early 1987. Over a six-week period, the trio was responsible for the deaths of three people. The first two killings were part of a robbery scheme targeting two engineers in the Midlands region, while the third victim, a young woman, was killed by Michael Torrence alone in Charleston following an argument. Torrence's case is notable not only for the senseless violence of the crimes but also for his subsequent actions on death row, where he waived all his appeals and demanded his own execution. He was executed by lethal injection in 1996, expressing little remorse for his actions.
Early Life and Criminal Background
Michael Rian Torrence was born on April 15, 1961, in Pine Ridge, South Carolina. His childhood was marked by his parents' divorce when he was around twelve years old. His mother, Maria Torrence, later testified in court that Michael began to experience emotional problems after the separation. A relative of the Torrence brothers suggested the trauma of the divorce was a factor in their later criminal behavior.
Torrence's criminal history began long before the 1987 murders. On one occasion, he aimed a sawed-off shotgun at two police officers in Myrtle Beach and pulled the trigger, though the weapon was not loaded. In another incident, he set off a tear gas grenade inside a crowded shopping mall in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was eventually arrested for a series of burglaries and served five years in a North Carolina prison. He was released on parole on January 20, 1987, less than a month before his murderous spree began.
The Midlands Murders: Bush and Lollis
In February 1987, the stage was set for the first two murders. Donna Michele Webb Torrence, the 20-year-old wife of Michael's older brother, Thomas John Torrence, worked as a topless dancer at "The Carriage House," a club near Fort Jackson. She complained to her husband that two patrons, Charles Alan Bush, 31, and Dennis Lollis, 41, had been taunting her. The couple, along with Michael, devised a plan to rob the two men. Bush and Lollis were engineers for the M. Lowenstein Corporation textile mill and were in the area on business, staying at the Red Roof Inn in Cayce, South Carolina.
On the night of February 11, 1987, Donna Torrence went to the victims' motel. She lured Charles Bush out by telling him her car had broken down and she needed a ride. Bush agreed to drive her to her home in Pine Ridge. When they arrived and he stepped inside the house, Michael Torrence, who had been hiding, slammed the door. Michael and Thomas then brutally attacked Bush, beating him with a tire thumper and strangling him to death with a dog chain.
After killing Bush, the brothers stole his motel room key. They drove back to the motel where Dennis Lollis was sleeping. They entered the room and stabbed Lollis repeatedly, more than 20 times, killing him in his bed. The brothers then ransacked the room, stealing money and any other valuables they could find before fleeing. They buried Bush's body near their home, leaving Lollis's body to be discovered the next day.
The Charleston Murder: Cynthia Williams
Following the double murder, the Torrence family relocated to Charleston, South Carolina. There, on March 28, 1987, Michael Torrence committed his third and final murder. He had become involved with a 20-year-old woman named Cynthia M. Williams, who was described in some reports as a prostitute and by Torrence himself as his girlfriend.
On that day, Torrence and Williams got into an argument. In a fit of anger, Torrence shot her in the chest with a shotgun, killing her instantly. He then drove her body to an interchange for Interstate 526 and dumped it on the side of the road. Her body was discovered a short time later by two motorists who had pulled over.
The Victims
- Charles Alan Bush, 31 — Murdered on February 11, 1987, in Cayce, South Carolina. An engineer at the M. Lowenstein Corporation textile mill, he was lured from his motel room and brutally killed in a robbery plot.
- Dennis Lollis, 41 — Murdered on February 11, 1987, in Cayce, South Carolina. A colleague of Charles Bush, he was asleep in his motel bed when he was viciously stabbed to death by the Torrence brothers during their robbery.
- Cynthia M. Williams, 20 — Murdered on March 28, 1987, in Charleston, South Carolina. A young woman whose life was cut short when Michael Torrence shot her during an argument and left her body by an expressway.
Investigation and Capture
The investigation into Cynthia Williams's murder quickly focused on Michael Torrence, as he was the last person seen with her. Charleston police placed him under surveillance while they gathered evidence. On April 6, 1987, authorities had enough to move in, and both Michael and Thomas Torrence were arrested at their Charleston home.
During interrogation, the brothers' criminal enterprise unraveled. They not only confessed to their roles in the murder of Cynthia Williams but also admitted to the brutal slayings of Charles Bush and Dennis Lollis a month earlier. They led investigators to the location where they had buried Charles Bush's body. The three were held without bond in separate jails to await trial.
Trial and Sentence
The prosecution sought the death penalty for all three defendants. Donna Torrence, however, accepted a plea deal. In exchange for her testimony against her husband and brother-in-law, she was allowed to plead guilty to two counts of accessory after the fact and criminal conspiracy. She was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Thomas Torrence was convicted of two counts of murder and armed robbery for his role in the deaths of Bush and Lollis, as well as being an accessory in the Williams murder. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Michael Torrence was tried and convicted for all three murders. During the sentencing phase of his trial for the murders of Bush and Lollis, he displayed a shocking lack of remorse, telling the jury, "I don't see anything wrong with what I did," and that he would do it again if given the chance. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Charles Bush and received a death sentence for the murder of Dennis Lollis. He had previously been sentenced to life for the murder of Cynthia Williams.
In 1991, the South Carolina Supreme Court overturned Michael Torrence's death sentence due to an error in jury instructions regarding parole eligibility and remanded the case for a new sentencing hearing. At a new trial in 1994, a jury once again found him guilty and resentenced him to death.
Execution
Following his second death sentence, Michael Torrence made the unusual decision to waive all of his remaining appeals, stating he preferred death to life in prison. This put him in direct conflict with his court-appointed lawyer, who fought to continue the appeals, believing Torrence was not mentally competent to make such a decision. His lawyer argued that Torrence's claims of being a mercenary and killing a family in Guatemala—a claim his father refuted by stating Michael was in prison at the time—were evidence of his mental instability.
Despite these efforts, a court found Torrence competent to make the decision. He was scheduled for execution on September 6, 1996. Dennis Lollis's widow, Shelby, announced she would attend the execution, viewing it as a debt owed to her late husband.
On the day of his execution, Torrence's lawyer read a handwritten statement from him. In it, Torrence claimed he now understood the effects of his crimes and hoped his death would bring closure to the victims' families. He also stated that he had accepted God as his savior. His request for a last meal of steak, shrimp, and lobster from a local Japanese restaurant was denied; he was given shrimp with cocktail sauce and strawberry shortcake from the prison cafeteria instead.
Michael Torrence was executed by lethal injection at the Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia. He was 35 years old.
Aftermath and Legacy
The murders committed by Michael Torrence, along with his brother and sister-in-law, left a scar on the communities of Cayce and Charleston. The case highlighted a chilling combination of greed and casual brutality. Michael Torrence's defiant attitude in court and his subsequent eagerness for his own execution made his case a disturbing footnote in the annals of South Carolina crime. The president of an anti-capital punishment group, commenting on the small number of protesters at his execution, remarked, "He tried very hard not to have any redeeming qualities." The case serves as a grim reminder of a brief but violent crime spree that destroyed multiple lives.
