No direct evidence, including weapon, in SC woman’s murder trial. What prosecutors will do
State prosecutors leaned heavily on circumstantial evidence during Tuesday’s opening statements and witness testimony in the murder trial of Meagan Jackson.
No direct evidence has yet tied Jackson to Greg Rice’s death. Jackson is accused of shooting and killing Rice, her ex-boyfriend and the father of her four children, on Oct. 2, 2020.
She is being tried for murder and criminal conspiracy in a Horry County courthouse in Conway. Her trial continues Wednesday.
Included in the crime is former Horry County Deputy Coroner Christopher Dontell. Jackson and Dontell were having an affair at the time of Rice’s death. And Dontell dumped Rice’s body in the Little Pee Dee River after wrapping him in a tarp and attaching a cinder block, court records show.
Donna Sue Soles found Rice’s body wrapped in a tarp sometime late Nov. 7 or early Nov. 8 when fishing for catfish, she testified on Tuesday.
On Dec. 4, 2024, Dontell pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact and criminal conspiracy in his connection to Rice’s death, The Sun News reported.
Prosecutors Mary-Ellen Walter and Leigh Andrew Waller plan to use evidence such as cellphone data, license plate information and the proximity of Dontell to Jackson to prove her guilt, according to opening statements.
“There’s zero direct evidence. But in a murder case, I’d like to see a lot more. I’d like to see the murder weapon, don’t have it. I like eyewitness testimony. Don’t have any eyewitness testimony. I like video of the crime. I don’t have video of the crime,” said Case Brittain, Jackson’s defense lawyer.
Jackson did not fidget during her trial on Tuesday, but her shoulders were held close to her body and the few glimpses of her face showed furrowed eyebrows, suggesting she was uncomfortable. She did not cry or show intense emotions, even when her daughter, Savannah Rice, testified against her.
Walter and Andrew Waller spoke to multiple police officers who performed welfare checks and completed search warrants on Rice’s apartment. Officers conducted a welfare check on about Oct. 3, 2020 and they searched Rice’s apartment on Oct. 13, 2020.
During the welfare check, Jackson told Horry County police Officer Isaiah Perkins that she had dropped off items several days prior and they still there. Perkins testified he went inside Rice’s home and found the missing man’s wallet and keys.
Two other officers testified about their experiences looking over Rice’s apartment.
Brittain asked all officers if any bystanders came up to report gunshots when they were at Rice’s apartment complex, to which all officers said no. Brittain also asked if the officers saw evidence of a shooting, such as bullet casings or blood splatter, to which they also said no.
As these witnesses were questioned, Jackson appeared tense. She kept her back to the courtroom, making sure to only face the judge and the jury. She paid attention to the trial, with her eyes moving from witness to lawyer to judge, depending on who was speaking.
Although mostly circumstantial, prosecutors have a decent amount of evidence against Jackson. For example, Andrew Waller said there is evidence of the body transport van Jackson uses for work entering Greg Rice’s HOA late Oct. 2. At the same time, cellphone 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 cellphone is pinging in the same direction, Andrew Waller said. Rice’s phone pings off cellphone towers for the last time at Lowes Foods in Carolina Forest — at the same time Jackson is in the parking lot.
This story was originally published June 11, 2025 at 7:00 AM.
