South Carolina man held 4 people in basement for up to 10 years

A man in South Carolina allegedly held four people captive in his basement over a 10-year span and has been charged with four counts of false imprisonment as well as domestic violence. The four people held captive were two women who were in a romantic relationship with the man, and a couple that he was the sole caregiver for.

Donnie Ray Birchfield Jr., 35, was accused of keeping the four victims in the basement of his home in Lancaster, South Carolina, according to The Post and Courier. The crimes were only revealed after one of the four victims died, police have said.

Authorities were notified of an "unattended death" at Birchfield's home and police were able to determine she died the day before and had been physically abused. Police later learned of the other three victims, police records said.

The woman who died as well as her husband were considered to be vulnerable adults. It is not clear how the perpetrator knew the older couple. The two other women reportedly were in romantic relationships with Birchfield. One of the women had been in the home since 2015, the other since September 2024.

Police records indicated that Birchfield would only allow them to leave the basement with permission, and they were subject to regular physical abuse at the hands of Birchfield. The suspect also had control over their cellphones, preventing them from notifying authorities. According to warrants in the case, Birchfield also controlled when they ate and when they used the bathroom. He allegedly used the couple's credit cards to make $2,000 worth of purchases at Walmart as well.

There were 32 purchases made “solely for the listed suspect’s use and not for the victim,” police said.