Trials
A Horry County judge sentenced Camisha McGaskey to life plus 10 years for murder and obstruction.
WJCL reported Circuit Judge David P. Caraker Jr. imposed life in prison for murder and a consecutive 10 years for obstruction of justice on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026, after a jury convicted Camisha McGaskey, 32, of Myrtle Beach, in the June 11, 2025 beating death of an 11-year-old girl. The Myrtle Beach Sun News reported the jury was out a little more than an hour.
By Crime Talk Network Staff Writer · · Updated
Friday's order is the sentence on the murder and obstruction counts the jury found. WJCL reported life for murder and 10 years for obstruction, served one after the other. The Sun News reported she did not testify, the defense called no witnesses, and the judge refused to reduce the murder count to involuntary manslaughter before the verdict.
WJCL reported that a Horry County jury convicted Camisha McGaskey, 32, of Myrtle Beach, of murder and obstruction of justice after a weeklong trial, and that Circuit Judge David P. Caraker Jr. sentenced her on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026, to life in prison for murder and 10 years for obstruction of justice. The station reported the terms will be served one after the other. The case is the June 11, 2025 beating death of an 11-year-old girl. WYFF reported the 15th Circuit Solicitor's Office announced the conviction and sentence on Friday, and that the Horry County Coroner's Office reported the girl died of multiple blunt force injuries and ruled the death a homicide.
The Myrtle Beach Sun News reported the jury convicted McGaskey in a little more than an hour. The paper reported she faced forward with her head lowered when the verdict was read, that she did not take the stand, and that no witnesses were called in her defense. It reported the girl was in McGaskey's care and died in a home in the Myrtle Beach area. WJCL reported 15th Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson and Senior Assistant Solicitor Leigh Waller prosecuted the case. The station reported Richardson thanked the Horry County Police Department and lead investigator Michael Quick, and that he said he hoped the verdict would provide some justice for the girl's family. WJCL reported the police department called the case heartbreaking and said the sentence brought a measure of accountability.
The Sun News reported that before the verdict, defense attorney Ralph Wilson Sr. asked the judge to reduce the murder charge to involuntary manslaughter. The paper reported the judge denied that request and said, "I would shudder to think that would be legal provocation." The Sun News reported Wilson told jurors in closing that the state had not proved murder. WJCL reported prosecutors said cellphone video from May 26 and May 27, 2025, showed McGaskey abusing the girl, that investigators did not recover video from June 11, the day she died, and that witnesses testified about that day.
Friday's guilty verdicts are convictions for murder and obstruction of justice. The life term and the consecutive 10-year term are the sentence Judge Caraker imposed. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Shop
Checkout is on Shopify. A few from the rack:
More on the desk
By Crime Talk Network Staff Writer
Nicole Virzi pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and was sentenced to 35 to 80 years.
Wednesday's plea is the conviction on those three counts, and the 35-to-80-year term is the sentence on the plea. A first-degree murder count is not the judgment. What she told detectives about shaking and dropping the infant is her recorded statement, as TribLive reported it. The parents' account of why they wanted a plea is what the prosecutor told the court.
Read the take
Reporting noted by WTAE and TribLive.
By Crime Talk Network Staff Writer
Judge William Watson sentenced Charles Stokes to 14 years and 8 months to serve for shooting Heather Burrow.
Tuesday's terms are the sentence on a guilty plea to six felonies. The Courier-Record printed 74 years imposed, 58 years and 4 months suspended, and six terms that add to 73 years if the firearm count is the three-year mandatory minimum it listed. WTVR printed 74 years with all but 14 years and 8 months suspended. Both accounts leave 14 years and 8 months to serve.
Read the take
Reporting noted by The Courier-Record and WTVR.
By Crime Talk Network Staff Writer
Samuel Rocha was sentenced to 27 years to life for driving into bicyclists in Port Hueneme.
Tuesday's term is the sentence on an August guilty plea to second-degree murder and on the April jury convictions for assault and battery. The jury did not return a murder verdict. The office and the Los Angeles Times print the 16-year-old's name. This story does not, and it does not name the other minors who were hurt.
Read the take
Reporting noted by Ventura County District Attorney's Office and Los Angeles Times.