A woman was fatally shot and set on fire after reportedly believing she was meeting someone to buy a puppy in South Carolina.
On Friday, Jan. 23, the Florence County Sheriff’s Office – South Carolina confirmed in a press release that authorities responded to a vehicle engulfed in flames on Atlantic Road near Springbranch Road in Effingham, S.C., on Jan. 22.
When officers arrived, they found the deceased victim, who was identified as Dana Marie Kinlaw, 40, of Olanta, SC, inside the vehicle.
Authorities arrested suspects Iryanna Jarissa Fleming, 19, and Daquinn Taheen Thomas, 31, who are currently in custody.
“Investigators allege that Iryanna Jarissa Fleming and Daquinn Taheen Thomas intentionally shot Kinlaw, resulting in her death and subsequently set her body on fire inside the vehicle,” the release read. “Coroner Von Lutcken has ordered that the body of Kinlaw be autopsied at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, SC.”
Florence County Sheriff TJ Joye told the press that Kinlaw believed she was going to see a puppy that she wanted to purchase, according to NBC affiliate WMBF and ABC affiliate WPDE.
“Supposedly, they went there together,” Joye told WMBF. “Miss Fleming, she was 19 years of age, a friend of Miss Kinlaw, and they rode there together supposedly to buy a puppy.”
Joye then said Kinlaw was set on fire inside a car after liquid had been poured on her.
Deputies arrived at the scene at around 5:45 p.m., WMBF reported.
The sheriff said investigators believe the killing was retaliation connected to a separate case in Darlington County.
“We believe there was a murder committed in Darlington County, which we made the arrest in Lake City that connects them to that arrest with Darlington County officials,” Joye said, per WMBF. “We feel that her son was involved in that in some way, shape, or form, and we feel this is a retaliation to that murder.”
Fleming and Thomas were both charged with Murder and Possession of a Weapon During the Commission of a Violent Crime, police said.
“Fleming and Thomas are being held at the Florence County Detention Center while awaiting a bond hearing before a Circuit Court judge,” the Sheriff’s Office added in their release.
A third suspect, Nikko Christopher Carraway, 31, was later arrested and charged on Wednesday, Jan. 28, according to WPDE.
Carraway was charged with Murder, First-Degree Arson, and Possession of a Weapon During a Violent Crime, Joye told the outlet.
The investigation remains ongoing.
