Daughter testifies against mother in SC murder trial. What she said about day her dad died
Through tears and shaking hands, Savannah Rice said that she came to Horry County prosecutors and offered to testify against her mother.
The 19-year-old woman took the witness stand Tuesday and powered through her testimony, stopping during sentences to take deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself. Her mother, Meagan Jackson, watched as her daughter testified against her.
Rice, the daughter of Jackson, testified against her mother, who is being tried for murder and criminal conspiracy in connection to the death of Greg Rice – Savannah’s father.
“I believe that (my mom)...,” Savannah Rice began before a defense lawyer cut her off with a loud, “Objection.”
“I wanted to speak my truth,” Savannah Rice finished before Judge Benjamin Culbertson could stop her.
Greg Rice is Jackson’s ex-boyfriend and the father of her four children. In October 2020, he went missing and, a month later, was found in the Great Pee Dee River wrapped in a tarp with a cinder block attached to his body.
Jackson has been accused of shooting and killing Greg Rice, with former Horry County Deputy Coroner Christopher Dontell. Dontell helped dispose of the body. Dontell pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact and criminal conspiracy to commit murder on Dec. 4, 2024., The Sun News reported.
Dontell and Jackson, a former body transporter, began an affair in 2020.
Opening statements for Jackson’s trial started June 10, 2025, after the trial was delayed several times, with the last trial set to begin on Feb. 4, 2025, before it was continued.
In court, Jackson appeared small, keeping her head forward while listening to witnesses and lawyers. She occasionally gave a nervous glance to the back of the courtroom.
“As you’re watching this, make no mistake, the defendant may look like a victim or portray herself that way. She may look meek and mild, but she is a master manipulator, and that’s what she did in this case,” said Prosecutor Leigh Andrew Waller in her opening argument.
Data shows Jackson, Dontell near Greg Rice night of his death
In opening statements, Andrew Waller stated that on Oct. 2, 2020, the day Rice died, Jackson and Dontell had gone to the Lewis Ocean Bays Heritage Preserve to practice shooting.
At 10 p.m., the body transport van Jackson uses for work is seen entering Greg Rice’s HOA. At the same time, cell phone data shows Rice is at his home. Shortly after, license plate readers captured the van driving to the Myrtle Beach Funeral Home while at the same time, Rice’s cell phone is pinging in the same direction, Andrew Waller said.
At about 11 p.m. security footage shows Dontell and Jackson near the Lowe’s Foods complex in Carolina Forest. At the same time, Greg Rice’s phone pings for the last time. They then go to the Myrtle Beach Funeral home.
An embalmer sees Jackson and Dontell at the Myrtle Beach Funeral Home at 12:45 a.m., according to Andrew Waller. The embalmer will come later in the trial to testify.
Savannah Rice also testified, stating her mother began acting strange on Oct. 3. Jackson and Greg Rice’s children lived primarily with their mother, with regular visits to their father’s apartment. The morning after Greg Rice’s death, Jackson drove her children to Greg Rice’s home to transfer the children, even though he consistently picked them up from Jackson’s house, Savannah Rice said.
Once at Greg Rice’s apartment, Savannah Rice received a frantic phone call from Jackson stating that Greg Rice was not home. In the weeks following, Jackson was away from home more often than normal.
Before the discovery of Greg Rice’s body, Savannah Rice said she remembered a particular fight between her mother and sister.
“My sister was upstairs, but then (Jackson) looked at me and she said, ‘I hope what happened to your dad happens to your sister.’ And I asked her, ‘What do you mean?’ And she was not saying anything,” Savannah Rice said.
This story was originally published June 10, 2025 at 1:45 PM.
