Trey Wright Case: 9 Teens Charged Under Accomplice Liability

The Trey Wright murder case is a South Carolina prosecution in which nine teenagers and young adults have been charged with murder over a single shooting near Johnsonville on June 24, 2025. Only one of them is accused of pulling the trigger. The other eight face the same charge because prosecutors are using South Carolina’s accomplice liability doctrine, sometimes called “the hand of one is the hand of all,” which treats everyone who knowingly took part in a planned violent confrontation as equally responsible for the death that followed.

What Happened on June 24, 2025

Trey Dean Wright, a 16-year-old from Scranton, was shot in the chest at close range shortly before midnight in the front yard of a home on North First Neck Road in the Johnsonville area of Florence County. The wounds caused his lungs to fill with blood. He was taken to McLeod Regional Medical Center in Florence, where he was pronounced dead.¹ Deputies recovered two shotguns at the scene.²

Witnesses said several people were standing around Wright and screaming when he was shot. Some recorded portions of the incident on their phones. After the shooting, the alleged gunman fled in a white Mazda driven by a female, with three male passengers.³

The Alleged Plan and Motive

Florence County Sheriff T.J. Joye said the shooting grew out of a dispute between 19-year-old Devan Raper and Wright “over a female.”⁴ The sheriff’s office incident report described the confrontation as “planned” and pointed to provocative Snapchat messages between the parties, prior altercations, and alcohol as contributing factors.⁵

Investigators allege that Gianna Helene Kistenmacher, identified as Wright’s girlfriend, lured him to First Neck Road while knowing Raper was armed and that a violent confrontation likely to result in death would occur.⁴ According to arrest warrants, the wider group knew Raper “had presented a firearm to the victim and made threats to shoot him.”⁶ Witnesses said the final encounter escalated quickly after Wright approached the vehicle and began banging on the door.⁵

The Nine Defendants

All nine people arrested face murder charges. Devan Scott Raper, 19, of Conway, is identified as the alleged shooter and also faces a charge of possession of a weapon during a violent crime. He was arrested the day after the shooting and held without bond.³

Kistenmacher, 17, was initially charged as an accessory before the fact of a felony, and the charge was later upgraded to murder. She was denied bond on June 30, 2025, then later released under electronic monitoring and home confinement.⁷ The other named defendants are Hunter Matthew Kendall, 18; Corrinne Elizabeth Belviso, 18; Sydney Marissa Kearns, 17; Jaden Blaze Auclaire, 18, of Loris; and Braylyn O’Neill Thompson, 17, of Myrtle Beach. Each was released after posting bond.² Two additional defendants, ages 15 and 16 at the time of the shooting, were charged with murder and released to their parents.³

The 12th Circuit Solicitor’s Office did not consent to bond for any of the defendants.⁷ By September 2025, eight of the nine were free on bond or in parental custody. Only Raper remained jailed.³

How Nine People Can Be Charged With One Murder

The theory behind the charges is South Carolina’s accomplice liability doctrine, known historically as “the hand of one is the hand of all.” Under this rule, prosecutors do not have to prove which individual fired the fatal shot. They must show that each defendant was present, knew a crime was being committed, and participated in or contributed to it.²

The probable cause affidavits filed against the co-defendants accuse them of “bringing the armed co-defendant to the incident location knowing that there would be a confrontation and violence and the propensity of death due to statements made in their presence.”² In practice, that means Kistenmacher’s alleged role in luring Wright, the other passengers’ alleged role in transporting Raper, and Raper’s act of pulling the trigger all carry the same legal weight for a murder conviction.

The doctrine has limits. South Carolina appellate courts have reversed convictions where prosecutors could not show a prior arranged plan or scheme between the defendant and the actual shooter.⁸ That is why the “planned” characterization in the incident report and the allegation that the group knew Raper had already threatened Wright with a firearm matter so much to the state’s case.

The Two Youngest Defendants

Two of the defendants were 15 and 16 at the time of the shooting and were initially processed in the juvenile system. The 12th Circuit Solicitor’s Office moved to have them “waived up” from family court to general sessions court to be tried as adults. Deputy Solicitor Todd Tucker confirmed both were undergoing mandatory mental evaluations as part of that process.³

Under South Carolina law, a child accused of murder can be transferred to adult court at any age if the family court finds that retaining jurisdiction would be contrary to the best interests of the child or the public.⁹ The 17-year-old defendants are already in adult court by operation of law, because South Carolina excludes anyone 17 or older charged with a felony carrying 15 or more years from the definition of “juvenile.”¹⁰

Where the Case Stands

In February 2026, a judge modified Kistenmacher’s house arrest so she could work, requiring her to remain home from 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. except for work, medical, or legal appointments. Her social media ban stayed in place.¹¹ Raper requested bond at a hearing in Florence on March 5, 2026; the outcome was not immediately reported.¹²

Prosecutors moved in May 2026 to revoke Belviso’s bond after learning she had traveled to New York, which they said violated her house arrest and a bar on leaving South Carolina. Her attorney, Thomas Brittain, said there had been a miscommunication and that she had moved to Niagara Falls for work because of local notoriety. Assistant Solicitor Ryan White acknowledged she had attended every court date but called it a “technical violation.” On June 11, 2026, Circuit Judge R. Kirk Griffin denied the motion, and Belviso remained free on her original $20,000 bond.¹³

As of mid-2026, no trial date had been set for any of the nine defendants.¹¹

Who Trey Wright Was

Wright was born October 9, 2008, and lived in Scranton. He was a rising sophomore at Johnsonville High School, where he played varsity football and baseball. He worked at a local deer processing business and was remembered by family and friends as an outdoorsman who loved riding dirt bikes.¹⁴ A celebration of life was held on July 3, 2025, at the Johnsonville High School gymnasium, where Pastor Josh Balton, a family friend, described him as “unforgettable” and urged the community to “choose love over everything else.”¹⁵

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WPDE. Nine Arrested in Murder of Trey Wright
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FITSNews. The Hand of One, the Fate of All: The Murder of Trey Dean Wright
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ABC News 4. Nine Arrested in South Carolina Teen Murder
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People. South Carolina Teen Killed in Love Triangle, Say Police
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WBTW. Report Offers New Details Into Killing of Johnsonville Teen Trey Wright
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WBTW. Prosecutors Seek to Revoke Bond of Suspect in Killing of Johnsonville Teenager Trey Wright
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WPDE. Timeline: Everything We Know About the Johnsonville Teen’s Murder
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South Carolina Courts. State v. Campbell, Opinion No. 5885
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OJJDP. Trying Juveniles as Adults: South Carolina
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South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 63, Chapter 19
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WPDE. Myrtle Beach Teen Charged in Murder Asks Judge to Lift Some Bond Restrictions
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WBTW. 19-Year-Old Accused in Johnsonville Teen’s Death Requests Bond
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ABC News 4. Motion Denied to Revoke Bond for Teen Murder Suspect After Leaving SC
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Carolina Funeral Home. Obituary: Trey Wright
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Yahoo News. Community Mourns Johnsonville Teen