Judge Finds Probable Cause; Loftis Will Stand Trial for Murder

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — A judge has ruled that the man accused of killing two people and burying their bodies in the backyard of his home will go to trial for murder.

James Loftis’ lawyer, Stephen Harris, had asked the judge to dismiss his murder charges, arguing that Loftis was threatened at his house and was defending himself. Harris asked that Loftis instead face lesser charges, like involuntary manslaughter.

The bodies of 46-year-old Carlas Anderson and 32-year-old James Cody Newland were found buried in the backyard of Loftis’ Pandora Drive home on March 6.

According to an investigator, Loftis cleaned up his home with bleach for hours after the murders.

The judge found probable cause for murder charges to stand against Loftis.

According to an affidavit, Loftis’ wife went to the police on March 5 and said her husband was having suicidal thoughts. She said Loftis had called her while she was in Columbia and said that he had “killed ‘them’ and put them in the backyard.” She said she came home after that call to find Loftis “passed out from drinking alcohol” and his friend looking after him.

When police arrived at the home, she pointed out a bullet hole in the living room wall. Loftis was reportedly still “sleeping heavily due to being intoxicated.”

Another witness (the friend) told police that Loftis said he had taken a taxi home from a strip club and the two victims had followed him into the house so he shot them and buried them in the backyard.

GCPD officers reported finding the five-foot-by-three-foot grave in the backyard and “blood throughout the grout of the tile floor leading from the front room to the kitchen.”

Once police Mirandized Loftis, he told them the same story, according to the affidavit. He said the taxi driver and another man banged on his door, forced their way in, and demanded money for the cab fare. Loftis told police he responded “I’ll get your money” but got a .45 caliber semi-automatic instead and fired eight shots at the two men.

According to the affidavit, Loftis said he then moved the taxi to Old Black River Road, bought five gallons of gas from a nearby Kangaroo gas station, cleaned his home with bleach, then put his clothing, towels, and the bodies in a hole in the yard. He told police he then set the shallow grave on fire.