She killed her ex at his new girlfriend’s home. Now she wants a new trial, claims abuse
Vivian Lynn Schrader-Falls shot and killed her ex-boyfriend at the Horry County home of his new girlfriend in 2012. Eight years later, she says she should get a new trial because of errors and claims she was abused.
A Horry County jury convicted Schrader-Falls of murder in 2014, and a judge sentenced her to 30 years in prison. She remains incarcerated at Graham Correctional Institution. She has no disciplinary incidents since her incarceration, according to Department of Corrections data.
This week, Schrader-Falls filed a post-conviction relief request in Horry County court. The filing allows an inmate to say why they should get a new trial.
In March 2012, Horry County police went to a home on Bay Forge Road — outside of Myrtle Beach — for a reported shooting. An officer found Tony Hughes face down beside a vehicle, and Schrader-Falls was sitting in a nearby car in the same driveway. She had a .380-caliber semi-automatic handgun in the seat with her, according to a police report.
A 48-year-old woman lived in the home and said Hughes was her boyfriend. The woman told police that Schrader-Falls knocked on the doors and asked if Hughes was home.
Hughes told his girlfriend that it looked like his ex and went to talk to her, according to police. Moments later, the woman heard gunshots.
In her request for a new trial, Schrader-Falls claimed her lawyer for the trial and her first post-conviction request were both ineffective. Schrader-Falls states there were material facts that were not introduced in the case. The handwritten filing does not go into further details about what those facts entail.
Schrader-Falls also states that she did not have a mental evaluation before her trial.
As part of her reasons for a new trial, Schrader-Falls claims she is a “battered spouse with ongoing mental issues.” Battered wife, which can also be called battered woman syndrome, is a psychological issue that is sometimes used as a defense in criminal cases. The condition is when a woman who is victim of abuse says they can’t leave their abuser and feel helpless.
The 30-year prison sentence is cruel and unusual punishment for an already abused person, Schrader-Falls wrote.
This story was originally published January 9, 2020 at 1:59 PM.
