Mom and Teen Son Plead Guilty to Beating Man Who Used Wheelchair to Death

Corey Soles was in a wheelchair after a previous assault by teen Payton Watts — then prosecutors say the teen and his mother beat him to death over two days

A South Carolina mother and her teenage son have been sentenced to decades in prison for the brutal murder of a man who was left in a wheelchair after a prior assault by the same teen.

According to the Fifteenth Circuit Solicitor’s Office, Samantha Watts, 42, and her son Payton Watts, now 18, pleaded guilty to the 2023 killing of 29-year-old Corey Adam Soles. Prosecutors said Soles was beaten over the course of two days, while immobilized from an earlier attack that left him with a broken leg.

A Deadly Pattern of Abuse

Soles had been staying in the Watts family’s home in Aynor, S.C., when Payton — then just 16 — first assaulted him, breaking his leg and confining him to a wheelchair. Days later, on January 8 and 9, 2023, authorities say Payton and his mother repeatedly beat Soles, focusing on his head and upper body, according to a press release.

He died shortly after the attack. No one in the household called for help.

The solicitor’s office called the murder “brutal” and emphasized Soles’ helpless state during the beating.

Prison Sentences Handed Down

• Samantha Watts was sentenced to 45 years in prison. Prosecutors described her as the mastermind of the crime, saying she ran a drug distribution ring and used her son as violent enforcement.
• Payton Watts, who was charged as an adult, received 35 years behind bars for his role in the killing.

Two of Samantha’s other children were also charged in connection with the incident:

• Amber Watts, 23, pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact and was sentenced to five years’ probation.
• Jonathan Watts, 21, was sentenced under the Youthful Offender Act and received time served.

Body Discovered Days Later

Soles was officially reported missing on January 10, 2023. His body was discovered six days later in a rural area of Galivants Ferry, according to local outlets WPDE and WCIV.Authorities say the motive for the killing remains unclear, but prosecutors pointed to Samantha Watts’ influence and control over her children, accusing her of orchestrating the violence within the household.

Soles, who prosecutors say had been living in the home as a friend of one of the adult children, was initially attacked in one part of the house and later moved elsewhere, where the fatal beating continued.