Men convicted of murder in Horry County denied early release

Two men convicted of murder in Horry County, including one who strangled a woman under a beach house in Garden City Beach, were denied early release by a state parole board this week.

Ronald Deray Skipper, 53, of Murrells Inlet, and Richard Johnson, 63, each submitted applications for early release, but those were denied on Wednesday, said Pete O’Boyle, spokesman for the S.C. Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services.

Johnson was sentenced to life in prison for murder and that sentence began in August 1982, according to jail records.

Details surrounding the charge against Johnson were not immediately available.

Skipper was convicted in June 1983 of murder in the death of 23-year-old Maryanne Wray. She was found strangled to death Nov. 2, 1982, under a beach house in Garden City Beach.

Skipper was convicted of murder and first-degree criminal sexual conduct and sentenced to death in June 1983, but that sentence was later commuted to life in prison.

Then-Solicitor Jim Dunn sought the death penalty against Skipper because he had previous convictions for sexual assaults in Florence and Georgetown counties in March 1978 and March 1983.

Skipper continues to serve his sentence at the Lee Correctional Institute in Bishopville.

The location where Johnson is serving his sentence was not listed in records of the state Department of Corrections.

This story was originally published October 21, 2010 at 9:44 AM with the headline "Men convicted of murder in Horry County denied early release."