Murder trial Day 3: Georgetown man already serving two life sentences faces new charge

Ryan Woodruff, convicted in 2024 of a double murder, is on trial for a third killing. A motion claiming no malice was denied on Day 3.

Woodruff murder trial enters third day as key motions denied in Georgetown County court

Ryan O'Neil Woodruff, a Georgetown man already serving two life sentences for double murder, is now standing trial for a third killing, wpde.com reports. He is charged with shooting 19-year-old Ty'quez Walker in January 2023 at a home on Meadow Street.

On the third day of proceedings, Woodruff's defence attempted to file a motion arguing there was no malice involved in the shooting. The judge denied the motion. Woodruff was offered the opportunity to testify but declined. The judge subsequently presented proposed charges and three possible verdicts for both sides to review.

The second day of the trial saw prosecutors call Georgetown County investigators, sheriff's deputies and members of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to the stand. Central to that testimony was the question of whether Woodruff had been told he was free to leave the scene at the time — and whether a statement he gave as a witness can be entered as evidence now that he is the defendant.

The first witness on Day 2 used gunshot residue kits during the investigation. Analysts said one item from the kit returned residue connected to a shotgun Woodruff is believed to have fired. A second state witness, a DNA specialist, testified that she conducted swab tests on multiple items recovered from the scene, with several yielding results described as strongly supporting the prosecution's case. Among the items examined was the trigger of a Browning shotgun.

Woodruff was out on bond in a separate double-murder case at the time of Walker's shooting in 2023 — a circumstance that, according to wpde.com, renewed scrutiny over bond conditions for defendants facing serious charges. He was subsequently convicted in October 2024 of killing two relatives, Roger Woodruff and Debra Goins, and sentenced to life in prison for those offences.

The trial in Georgetown County, South Carolina, is ongoing.

Source: Google News GY — Georgetown