Lexington county man sentenced to 45 years for domestic violence murder

Columbia, S.C. (WOLO) – Marion C. Wilkes, 76, has been convicted of murder by a Lexington County jury following a week long trial. Wilkes was sentenced to 45 years for the stabbing and beating death of his wife, Susan Reynolds Wilkes, on June 11, 2014. Wilkes is not eligible for parole.

The couple had been married for 34 years and lived together in West Columbia. Wilkes reported his wife as “missing” to law enforcement three days after her death. He also contacted the victim’s family members and fabricated an explanation for her disappearance. During the investigation, West Columbia Police discovered the body which had been buried in a shallow grave in Little Mountain, South Carolina.

Wilkes confessed to killing his wife during an interview with Captain Bruce Wade of the West Columbia Police Department. The audio recorded statement was offered as evidence during the trial. Wilkes admitted to using a blunt force instrument to strike his wife multiple times in the head and to stabbing her with a knife. Surveillance video recovered from the River Chase Collection Center depicted Wilkes throwing various items into a trash compactor on June 13, 2014.

An autopsy revealed that Susan, 59, had sustained a stab wound to the heart and multiple blows to her head. The head injuries included skull fractures and multiple lacerations; from this officials determined that Susan was killed in the family home. Forensic analysis indicated that cleaning materials had been used to eliminate evidence from the crime scene.

Eleventh Circuit Solicitor Rick Hubbard stated, “Domestic violence continues to be a serious problem in our state and in our four counties. Too often these incidents become deadly. Our office will always fight to stop domestic violence. Prosecuting these types of cases and domestic homicides are a priority. Hopefully this sentence sends a clear message to domestic abusers. Such acts of violence cannot be tolerated.”