Dana Woods Case: Matlock and Chavis Sentences, Hill’s Reform Push

The Dana Woods murder case ended with two convictions in South Carolina: Caleb Matlock pleaded guilty to shooting 18-year-old Dana Marie Woods and her 22-year-old friend June Marie Guerry in the Francis Marion National Forest in August 2012 and was sentenced to 55 years in prison, and his cousin Arthur Ray Chavis pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and related charges and was sentenced to 25 years.

Who Dana Woods and June Guerry Were

Dana Marie Woods was 18, lived in Alvin in Berkeley County, and was studying to be a paralegal at Trident Technical College while working as a delivery driver for Papa John’s Pizza.¹ June Marie Guerry, also from Alvin, was 22 and the mother of a young daughter, Emma. She worked as a stock clerk at a Walmart in Moncks Corner.² The two women knew each other and were acquainted with the men who would kill them.

What Happened in the Forest

On the night of August 26, 2012, Woods and Guerry left to get food in the Moncks Corner area. Woods called her mother, Jennifer Hill, to say they were giving someone a ride. That call was the last her family heard from her.³

Prosecutors said Caleb Matlock lured the two women into the Francis Marion National Forest by offering to pay them $50 to help him look for a lost wallet.⁴ In a secluded stretch off Highway 402 near Cordesville, Matlock robbed the women and then shot both in the back of the head with a 9mm handgun. Ninth Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson later told the court Matlock’s plan was to rob the women for money to modify his own car and to steal Woods’ Chevrolet Metro.⁵ After the killings, Woods’ car was set on fire and left in the forest. Her body was found nearby. Guerry’s body was dumped in a dirt pit in the Alvin area, roughly ten miles away.

How the Killers Were Caught

Hill reported her daughter missing on August 27, 2012, and both women were formally reported missing early the following day.⁶ A fisherman looking for a spot to fish came across Woods’ burned-out car in the national forest, and search crews worked outward from there.⁷

On September 1, 2012, Berkeley County Sheriff’s investigators arrested Caleb Brad Matlock, 23, of Summerville, and Arthur Ray Chavis, 23, of Cordesville. Both were charged with murder.⁸ Court records showed Matlock had confessed to another person that he and Chavis used a 9mm handgun in the killings, and the weapon was on him when he was arrested.⁵

Caleb Matlock’s Sentence

Jury selection had already begun at the Berkeley County Courthouse in August 2014 when Matlock changed course and pleaded guilty to two counts of murder, two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime, armed robbery, and third-degree arson.⁹

Circuit Judge Brooks Goldsmith sentenced Matlock to concurrent terms totaling 55 years: 55 years on each murder count, 30 years for armed robbery, 15 years for third-degree arson, and 5 years on each firearm charge.⁹ South Carolina does not allow parole on murder convictions, and Matlock must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence, making him ineligible for release before 2069.¹⁰

Wilson told the court Matlock “executed these girls for no reason … nothing, except greed,” and said he “sat at the intersection of evil and immaturity.” She asked the judge to impose a sentence that would keep him locked up for life.⁹

Arthur Chavis’s Sentence

Chavis, Matlock’s cousin, reached a separate plea deal. On April 21, 2015, he pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, two counts of armed robbery, and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.⁴ The solicitor’s office told the court there was “no indication” Chavis had shot either woman; both shootings were attributed to Matlock. Judge Kristi Harrington sentenced Chavis to 25 years in prison, with all counts running concurrently.¹¹

Charles Britt, June Guerry’s father, told reporters the sentence was “fair enough.”⁴

Jennifer Hill’s Push for Longer Sentences

Dana Woods’ mother, Jennifer Hill, was outspoken about both sentences. At the time of Matlock’s plea, South Carolina law required a mandatory minimum of 30 years to life for a murder conviction. Hill argued the law should require at least 50 years for each life taken, and she started a Change.org petition that drew close to a thousand signatures.¹²

At Matlock’s hearing, Hill addressed him directly: “Please I want him to take one last look at her face because this is the only chance I get to say whatever I have to say. Look. You took my innocent child from me.” She said she had been at the hospital when June Guerry was born and felt she had lost two daughters.⁵ At Chavis’s sentencing, she told him: “You might’ve not pulled the trigger that night but you might as well have. Dana and June have all our hearts and memories as you slowly age in a jail cell.”⁴ Hill also said of both men, “One day, they will get to come home. Dana and June will never get that chance. They will never come home.”¹¹ Available reporting does not show that her petition produced a specific change in South Carolina sentencing law.

1
Dial-Murray Funeral Home. Dana Marie Woods Obituary
2
The Post and Courier. June Marie Guerry Obituary
3
The Post and Courier. Families of Two Slain Women Grappling for Answers After First Court Appearance
4
ABC News 4. Suspect Pleads Guilty to Lesser Charges in 2012 Murder Case
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Live 5 News. Jury Selection Underway in Double Murder Trial
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The Post and Courier. Matlock Pleads Guilty to Double Murder
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Live 5 News. More Charges Filed Against Berkeley Co. Double Murder Suspects
8
Patch. Arrests in Shooting Deaths of Dana Woods, June Guerry
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The Post and Courier. Caleb Matlock Pleads Guilty to Double Murder, Sentenced to 55 Years in Prison
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The Post and Courier. Matlock Pleads Guilty to Double Murder
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The Post and Courier. Double Murder Accomplice Sentenced to 25 Years
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The Post and Courier. Berkeley County Man Gets 25 Years for Role in Killing Two Women