NEWBERRY COUNTY, S.C. — Four people have been arrested in connection with the death of Kier Leon Marsh and the wounding of another individual on Green Meadows Drive in Newberry County on Thursday, December 5, 2024. Two others were also arrested for harboring a fugitive during the investigation.
Glazariq Diaz Garcia, 20, and Matthew Neal Epps, 24, were arrested Friday afternoon in an operation on Folk Road in Newberry. Austin Adam George Stanley, 20, of Whitmire, was apprehended in Myrtle Beach on Friday night, while Danny Isaiah Gray, 24, also from Whitmire, was arrested by law enforcement officials in Whitmire on Mill Street.
All four individuals face charges of murder, attempted murder, possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, burglary in the first degree, kidnapping, and conspiracy.
During Gray’s arrest, two individuals—Parrish Jeral McWatters, 34, and Stephanie Heather Mayer, 28—were arrested for harboring the fugitive. Gray was found hiding under a pile of clothes inside a residence on Mill Street after McWatters and Mayer were questioned by authorities about his whereabouts. Additionally, a Newberry County deputy was injured after being bitten by a pit bull during the operation, and three minor children were found inside the residence. McWatters and Mayer were charged with hindering law enforcement and unlawful neglect of a child.
According to authorities, Garcia initially arrived at the Green Meadows Drive residence, occupying two of the homes. Epps, Stanley, and Gray followed shortly after, wearing ski masks, and forced their way into the residence, assaulting the occupants in an apparent robbery attempt. The home’s owner and Marsh were both injured in the assault. Marsh later succumbed to his injuries, and the homeowner was transported to a trauma center.
Despite the violent nature of the incident, it is not believed that any property was stolen.
Sheriff Lee Foster of Newberry County called the crime a “senseless act of violence,” emphasizing the impact it had on the victims and their families.
