'Shot momma and Boo Boo too': Man who gunned down couple who had taken in his son and grandson learns his fate

A New York antheral who fatally changeable a South Carolina mates who were erstwhile friends of his household volition walk the remainder of his beingness successful prison.

Charles Saunders, 50, was found guilty of the murders of 40-year-old Alesia Dykes and 38-year-old Bernard Lyles connected Thursday. Dykes and Lyles were a couple surviving successful Hardeeville, a metropolis successful the confederate portion of the authorities adjacent to the Georgia border, and opened their location to Saunders' big son, whose parent is Dykes' sister. Saunders' lad had conscionable had a baby, and Saunders was visiting the country from New York erstwhile helium came to the couple's flat connected June 18, 2024.

Trasi Campbell of the 14th Circuit Solicitor's Office said Saunders and Lyles had been arguing successful the days earlier helium showed up, and Saunders posted "a video of himself holding firearms and threatening to sprout someone" connected societal media.

According to Campbell, Saunders arrived astatine Dykes' and Lyles' flat that day and began having a verbal statement with the couple. The altercation soon turned physical, and the mates went backmost wrong their home. Saunders followed them and fired a 9 mm handgun into the location portion 3 children were inside.

Saunders fled, and 1 of the children ran to a relative's location adjacent to get help. Dykes was pronounced dormant astatine the scene, and Lyles succumbed to his injuries astatine the hospital.

Surveillance cameras caught Saunders arsenic helium tried to evade instrumentality enforcement aft the shooting. He removed his garment and threw it successful a dumpster; constabulary recovered it and determined it had gunshot residue connected it. Saunders was captured getting into a car and being dropped disconnected astatine a Waffle House. Police recovered him determination and arrested him connected the spot.

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Local CBS affiliate WTOC was in the courtroom for the three-day trial. Dykes' sister testified that she recovered retired Dykes and Lyles were changeable erstwhile her nephew told her, "'Iz changeable momma and Boo Boo too," referring respectively to Saunders, Dykes, and Lyles.

Saunders' defence attorneys attempted to reason that helium acted successful self-defense erstwhile helium changeable Lyles and Dykes. The assemblage was not convinced, and it returned a blameworthy verdict connected 2 counts of execution aft about an hour.

Saunders was sentenced to 2 beingness sentences positive 5 years.