Prosecutors have admitted as evidence a Snapchat video of a young woman identified as Donasia Alexuswhile her ex boyfriend Justin Cole Carroll was stalking her despite court order.
Justin Cole Carroll was first convicted of first-degree assault and battery as a teenager in 2016.
He met Donasia Alexus Holloway shortly after getting out of prison for the conviction.
Months into their relationship, Carroll became violent, and, in January 2021, a judge issued a no-contact order after Holloway accused him of assaulting her.
However, by May of that year, Carroll was out on bail.
At around 10 p.m. May 22, as Holloway returned from a beach vacation, she spotted Carroll’s pickup truck following her into the Forest Point Apartment complex parking lot, per prosecutors.
Locking herself inside her car, she parked beside a Walterboro police cruiser and posted the video of Carroll approaching her car.
Minutes later, Carroll shot through her car windows, striking Holloway four times in the head and neck which led to her death.
Security footage caught Carroll walking up to her car, and multiple witnesses told police they saw a man running to his pickup truck and driving off in the moments after shots were fired, per prosecutors.
Within hours of the shooting, law enforcement stopped Carroll at a traffic light and tested his hands for gunshot residue.
He told officers that he had traveled to Charleston that day, but, when authorities pressed for more details, he asked for a lawyer.
Officers found no weapons inside his vehicle, and with insufficient evidence to charge Carroll, they eventually released him.
Then, two days later, investigators saw Holloway’s Snapchat video — and they noticed something odd: Carroll in the video had a head full of hair, but the man they had arrested hours later was clean-shaven.
Authorities determined that Carroll had been in the midst of changing his appearance when officers caught up with him the first time.
But he had not yet had time to properly clean his hands. Lab tests also revealed gunshot residue on Carroll’s right hand.
Investigators also determined that he had wiped his cell phone clean.
Sixteen witnesses testified over three days of testimony at the Colleton County Courthouse.
That Snapchat video became key evidence in the 2021 murder case, leading to her ex-boyfriend’s arrest and conviction.
Carroll, now 24, was found guilty of Holloway’s murder Wednesday, April 24, and sentenced to 60 years behind bars.
Women experiencing domestic violence are encouraged to seek help from relevant authorities or agencies.
Justin Cole Carroll was first convicted of first-degree assault and battery as a teenager in 2016.
He met Donasia Alexus Holloway shortly after getting out of prison for the conviction.
Months into their relationship, Carroll became violent, and, in January 2021, a judge issued a no-contact order after Holloway accused him of assaulting her.
However, by May of that year, Carroll was out on bail.
At around 10 p.m. May 22, as Holloway returned from a beach vacation, she spotted Carroll’s pickup truck following her into the Forest Point Apartment complex parking lot, per prosecutors.
Locking herself inside her car, she parked beside a Walterboro police cruiser and posted the video of Carroll approaching her car.
Minutes later, Carroll shot through her car windows, striking Holloway four times in the head and neck which led to her death.
Security footage caught Carroll walking up to her car, and multiple witnesses told police they saw a man running to his pickup truck and driving off in the moments after shots were fired, per prosecutors.
Within hours of the shooting, law enforcement stopped Carroll at a traffic light and tested his hands for gunshot residue.
He told officers that he had traveled to Charleston that day, but, when authorities pressed for more details, he asked for a lawyer.
Officers found no weapons inside his vehicle, and with insufficient evidence to charge Carroll, they eventually released him.
Then, two days later, investigators saw Holloway’s Snapchat video — and they noticed something odd: Carroll in the video had a head full of hair, but the man they had arrested hours later was clean-shaven.
Authorities determined that Carroll had been in the midst of changing his appearance when officers caught up with him the first time.
But he had not yet had time to properly clean his hands. Lab tests also revealed gunshot residue on Carroll’s right hand.
Investigators also determined that he had wiped his cell phone clean.
Sixteen witnesses testified over three days of testimony at the Colleton County Courthouse.
That Snapchat video became key evidence in the 2021 murder case, leading to her ex-boyfriend’s arrest and conviction.
Carroll, now 24, was found guilty of Holloway’s murder Wednesday, April 24, and sentenced to 60 years behind bars.
Women experiencing domestic violence are encouraged to seek help from relevant authorities or agencies.
Olekanma Favour is a resourceful, self-motivated, and result-driven writer.
