Socastee double-murder accomplice says alleged shooter acted ‘like it didn’t affect him’
Four men sat in a PT Cruiser on July 27, 2018. David Cook and Matthew Autry in the back, Shawn Anderson and Zachary Stell in the front. What Autry and Anderson didn’t know is they were targets of a revenge plot.
They were the target of a plot to get stolen drugs back. Both Cook and Stell were armed, or so Cook claims. Stell drove as the group went for a ride.
That is when Stell turned his gun on Anderson and shot him twice, before doing the same to Autry in the back seat, Cook said.
Cook spoke from a witness stand in an Horry County courtroom on Friday and described his account of how Stell supposedly murdered Aurty and Anderson inside the car in 2018. Cook was the final witness prosecutors called during Stell’s trial on two counts of murder.
Stell faces life in prison.
“I’m in shock,” Cook said Friday. “I’m going ‘What are you doing? You didn’t even find the drugs. Why are you doing that?’ I was in shock that he did it. He kept driving. It was like it didn’t affect him or anything.”
Cook is a co-defendant in the case whose charges are pending. Still, he took the stand on Friday to describe the day. Stell leaned back in his chair as he listened to a man he only met hours before the alleged killing detail the events. Occasionally, Stell leaned forward to make notes or speak to his attorney.
Cook said he met Stell and Michael Faile through another friend. Faile, who was also charged in connection to the case, would later plead guilty and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Cook said Faile and Stell were interested in getting revenge for stolen drugs.
Stell and Cook were armed as they drove to a house to find Anderson, Cook said. Stell reached out to Anderson via Facebook messenger to find his location. Cook said Stell wiped down the bullets before loading them into a gun.
“I guess to be safe in case anything would happen. We wouldn’t get caught,” Cook said as he admitted he was under the influence during the car ride, the alleged shooting and in the aftermath.
The two went to a mobile home park off S.C. 544, where they met Anderson. He got in the PT cruiser, then Autry joined them, Cook said.
Moments after the shooting, Cook said, Autry slumped over and Cook tried to push him off. Anderson leaned forward and was slumped over the dashboard.
Cook said he was “freaking out” at the scene and Stell drove back to Faile’s house. There, a group went inside the house to use more drugs.
“We leave both of the guys in the car and go back into the house and get high,” Cook said.
At the house, Cook presumed the two victims were dead, but as they cleaned the car he saw Anderson heave and move his body. It was then, Stell—a U.S. Marine—went up and slit his throat, Cook said.
As Cook described the killing, members of Anderson’s and Autry’s families in the courtroom cried as they heard the account.
Covering the crime
Cook said the group then developed a plan to burn the victim’s bodies and Stell sent William Tatum to get gasoline, Cook said. Tatum was also charged in connection to the case.
Cook and Stell argued over who would drive the car with the bodies away from the area and burn the remains, Cook said. Cook said he drove the vehicle with the victims to get the situation “over with fast.” They took the car to a wooded area outside of Socastee.
“I end up burning myself in the process,” Cook said.
When Cook was arrested, the evidence of the plot was literally on his face. He had burn marks on his head and his arms were heavily bandaged during a court appearance. Those injuries were non-existent two years later as he testified wearing a white shirt and tie.
As the car was on fire, Stell and another woman tried to leave the scene and Cook got in the car with them, he said. They went to Burger King and back to the house. There, they consumed more drugs, causing Cook to pass out.
He came too briefly, then lost consciousness, then came back again. By that time, the police were at the home.
Officers spoke to Cook, who detailed their crime. However, Stell and his lawyer have said that interview was to take attention away from Cook and tainted the entire investigation. Defense Attorney Brad Richardson focused on Cook’s statements to police as he cross-examined his case and called witnesses.
Richardson pointed out the changing descriptions Cook gave to police. He also noted the gun that fired the bullets also had Cook’s DNA on it. But, Cook denied pulling the trigger.
Cook said he initially lied to the police because he was high, but he says he told them the truth when he was sober.
“I know I’ll have to pay for the role I did in all this,” Cook said.
