A South Carolina community was left reeling after it was revealed that the son of a respected local pastor allegedly imprisoned four adults in his basement for years, a horrifying ordeal that only came to light after one of the victims passed away inside the house.
35-year-old Donnie Ray Birchfield Jr., is facing 16 charges, including false imprisonment, ab*se of a vulnerable adult, domestic violence, and financial fraud, according to the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office.
“This is a sick individual,” neighbor Darryl Evans told local media. “He’s a sick person to do something like that.”
The son of a South Carolina pastor was arrested for imprisoning four adults in his basement for years
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Authorities say suspicions around the accused began on July 25 when police responded to an “unattended passing” at his home on Churchill Drive in Lancaster, about 50 miles from the Charlotte metropolitan area.
The quiet, suburban home looked unremarkable from the outside: a 3,751-square-foot house built in 1996, purchased most recently for $200,000 in 2022. But when officers stepped through the front door on July 25, they quickly realized this was no ordinary welfare check.
Image credits: WSOC TV
As investigators moved through the rooms, their search led them down to the basement. There, in the dim light, they discovered the body of a woman.
Court documents later revealed she bore unmistakable signs of physical ab*se, malnourishment, and prolonged neglect of medical care. Authorities determined she had likely passed away the day before.
Image credits: Lancaster County Detention Center
But the nightmare did not end with her. In that same basement, officers uncovered three more people alive: her husband, described as a vulnerable adult, and two women who were “romantically” tied to the captor.
Donnie Ray had taken complete control of his captives’ lives, using half of them to satisfy his urges, and others for resources
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The surviving captives told investigators they had been living under the complete control of Donnie Ray, the son of a local pastor at Friendship Baptist Church.
Birchfield, they said, dictated every part of their existence: when they could eat, when they could use the bathroom, even how and when they could communicate with the outside world.
Police allege Birchfield’s ab*se went beyond control and into intimidation.
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According to warrants, he told one of the women that he knew how to dispose of a body from previous experience. She reported that he would strangle her during assaults, which often led to intimate encounters, and left her terrified for her life.
Investigators believe one of the women had allegedly been trapped in the residence since 2015. The other had presumably been there since September 2024.
The deceased woman and her husband were drained of more than $13,000 by Donnie Ray
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The woman who passed away and her surviving husband were considered vulnerable adults, according to law enforcement. Both were legally unable to fully care for themselves, and Birchfield had used this fact to position himself as their sole caregiver.
How he came into their lives remains unclear. What is clear, according to investigators, is that Birchfield not only confined the couple to his basement but also systematically exploited them.
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According to authorities, Birchfield drained the couple of their finances. He siphoned more than $11,800 from their bank account to pay off his own credit card debt, and charged at least $2,000 in Walmart purchases to their accounts.
This financial exploitation, layered onto years of captivity, painted what investigators described as a calculated pattern of ab*se designed to keep the victims dependent and powerless.
Donnie Ray remains behind bars without bail, already facing 16 charges, and investigators warn more could follow
Image credits: WCNC
Birchfield was finally arrested on August 1, 2025. He was booked into the Lancaster County Detention Center where he is being held without bail.
According to the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office, Donnie Ray could face further charges depending on the results of the autopsy on the deceased woman.
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The case has rattled Lancaster due to the captor’s ties to the church. His father, Donnie Birchfield Sr., is the pastor of Friendship Baptist Church, a respected figure in the community now thrust into a scandal.
“Find it impossible to believe that four adults are living in the basement of your house and you have no idea,” a reader wrote. “Life without parole for this sicko. In chains or whatever he used with his victims.”
“I can’t imagine the fear they felt,” a netizen wrote
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