Georgetown brother, sister and father sentenced in connection to man’s 2017 death
A Georgetown County jury convicted a brother and sister for murder and obstruction of justice in the death of the woman’s husband, whose bound body was found in the Black River. The jury found their father guilty of obstruction of justice, but not guilty of murder, according to a Thursday news release from the solicitor’s office.
Tiesh Annette Rhue, 37, and Alexander Rhue, Jr., 38, both of Georgetown, were convicted of murder and obstruction of justice in the death of Tiesh Rhue’s husband, Leon Harrison, Jr.
Their father, Alexander Rhue, Sr., 61, also of Georgetown, was convicted of obstruction of justice but acquitted on the murder charge.
Circuit Court Judge Robert Bonds presided over the joint trial of the case for these defendants, and directed a verdict of not guilty on all three defendants on the charge of desecration of human remains. The state dismissed the conspiracy and accessory charges for the defendants.
Bonds sentenced Tiesh Rhue and Alexander Rhue, Jr. each to 37 years on the murder charge and eight years on the obstruction of justice charge, sentences that will be served concurrently. Alexander Rhue, Sr. was sentenced to eight years on the obstruction of justice charge, suspended to the time he already served in jail of 549 days followed by three years on probation.
The penalty for murder in South Carolina is 30 years to life, with no possibility of parole, and the maximum penalty for obstruction of justice is 10 years, Alicia Richardson, the deputy solicitor who prosecuted the case said in the news release.
The trial
The joint trial for the three defendants began on Oct. 11 and lasted eight days. Each defendant was represented by a separate attorney. The jury deliberated for over five hours before they reached a verdict during the evening hours Wednesday.
The 32-year-old victim was reported missing by his father and the mother of his children on March 9, 2017. It was determined that he had been missing since February 25, 2017. On March 11, 2017, his partially decomposed body was observed floating in the Black River by a riverfront homeowner. Harrison’s body was tightly bound at the hands and feet by multiple loops of speaker wire and was identified by a distinctive tattoo on his arm that was in memory of his late mother.
Due to the condition of the body, a cause of death could not be determined, according to the news release.
The investigation revealed that Harrison and Tiesh Rhue had marital problems and argued the night of Feb. 25. Officers discovered that two sections of carpeting had been cut from the floor of the bedroom that Harrison and Tiesh Rhue sometimes shared. Blood was found on the carpet padding and had soaked into the sub-floor. DNA analysis matched the blood to Harrison.
Alexander Rhue, Jr. and Alexander Rhue, Sr. were captured on video surveillance at Walmart purchasing two bottles of hydrogen peroxide at 1 a.m. Cell phone records and the new technology of Google geo-fencing revealed that all three of the Rhues turned off their cell phones around 2 a.m. that day. The defendants gave false information to law enforcement and attempted to conceal evidence in the case, according to the press release.
The case was investigated by the Georgetown Police Department, which had assistance from other agencies.
The Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office investigated the recovery of Harrison’s body. The Richland County Sheriff’s Office and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division conducted serological and DNA analysis. The 15th Circuit Solicitor’s Office Investigators, the 15th Circuit Drug Enforcement Unit, the Conway Police Department, and the Horry County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the development of the cell phone and Google data analysis in this case. Detective Allan Huggins with the Conway Police Department provided “invaluable expertise and testimony” regarding Google geo-fencing, the news release said.
