A Lexington County jury has convicted 35-year-old Donovan Holman of murder for stabbing 38-year-old Caldwell “Jay” Motley Jr. more than 126 times inside a home on Oak Ridge Lane, then setting the house on fire and fleeing the scene in a stolen car. Holman was sentenced to life in prison without parole, closing out a case that began with a July 2024 house fire and stretched through a ten-month, multi-state manhunt before ending in a courtroom this week.
A Brutal, Unprovoked Attack
According to prosecutors reported by WACH, the killing happened after partygoers had already left a gathering on Oak Ridge Lane on July 20, 2024. Holman stabbed Motley more than 126 times using multiple sharp objects, according to WLTX. Trial evidence indicated Holman was under the influence of alcohol and drugs during the attack, and investigators found no indication he knew Motley was at the home; the group had moved to continue partying, per the same account.
Before entering the home to attack Motley, Holman assaulted Motley's roommate with an ax, inflicting a life-threatening neck wound, prosecutors said. The victim testified that the blow rendered him unconscious. Firefighters who responded to the blaze later found the surviving victim severely injured in a detached garage on the property, and he was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he recovered, per earlier WLTX reporting.
Fire, a Stolen Car, and a Body Inside
Prosecutors say Holman set fire to the Oak Ridge Lane house in an effort to destroy evidence, then escaped in a car stolen from one of the victims. First responders arrived after 911 calls reported smoke, and firefighters discovered Motley's body inside the burning home, according to the earlier WLTX account of the initial crime scene.
The case did not end that night. Holman evaded law enforcement for nearly ten months across two states before he was captured in Myrtle Beach on May 7, 2025, in an operation involving the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force. Investigators tracked him using cell phone location data. He was also reported as an unwanted guest somewhere, per WLTX reporting from that period.
A Co-Defendant Still Facing Charges
Holman was not the only person charged in the case. The Lexington County Sheriff's Department announced in a news release on August 14, 2024, that deputies had arrested 39-year-old Edward Leroy Smith of Winnsboro, charging him with murder and attempted murder. The release said detectives had determined Smith stabbed Motley to death during their investigation. Holman was later convicted of Motley's murder. Electronic data and witness interviews had originally placed Smith at the scene shortly before the fire broke out, according to the Lexington County Sheriff's Department. The status of Smith's charges following Holman's conviction was not addressed in the reporting on this week's verdict.
Verdict and Sentence
Following a five-day jury trial prosecuted by the 11th Circuit Solicitor's Office, Holman was convicted on all counts and sentenced to life in prison without parole for murder, along with concurrent sentences of 30 years for attempted murder and 25 years for arson, WLTX reported.
Under South Carolina Code § 16-3-20, a murder conviction carries a mandatory sentence of death or a minimum of 30 years to life in prison, with no statutory eligibility for parole, early release, or sentence-reducing credits, according to Justia Law. Holman's life sentence carries no possibility of parole.
