GUILTY SC - Ashley Pegram, 28, Dorchester County, 4 April 2015

[TravelingBug]

If other arrests are possible, it could be an accomplice or someone he told.

Looking at that area on satellite and on property records, Brown Town Road is a dead end loop with about 4 different last names between 12 or so residences. If an unknown car came and turned around back there, they'd probably notice it wasn't someone who belonged. Maybe they only just put two and two together.

I'm wondering if we'll be seeing a certain someone who also has a past (RSO) and a history of lying about his age on the list of possible arrests to come :waitasec:

 

[TieDyeJedi]

I'm wondering if we'll be seeing a certain someone who also has a past (RSO) and a history of lying about his age on the list of possible arrests to come :waitasec:

I would not be the least bit surprised.

 

[TravelingBug]

I would not be the least bit surprised.

Me either! giggle: I just wasn't sure if I shouldn't be so pointed yet. LOL)

 

[TieDyeJedi]

Me either! giggle: I just wasn't sure if I shouldn't be so pointed yet. LOL)

Haha, it was one of the VERY first things I thought. Keep it in the family.

Could have been his ride back from where he supposedly left his car in NChas.

 

[Rayemonde]

Rest in peace, Ashley :heartbeat:

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

This past August, Edward Bonilla was found guilty and a judge sentenced him to life in prison without parole. I don't believe anyone else was charged in relation to this case.

Trial Day 1: Jurors hear testimony on DNA evidence in Summerville murder case

Crime scene investigators with the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office gave the court an in-depth look at how they said they found multiple samples of blood evidence inside two different vehicles Bonilla used.

It took two days to complete all crime scene processing, according to Jeff Scott with the agency’s criminal investigations unit.

“With the sheer amount of evidence, we had three techs working,” he said. “This was an extensive processing. …We did not take photographs of every single swab.”

Scott also explained to the court about how investigators were able to locate the body more than a month later. Bonilla actually led deputies to the site – an “uncontested fact” in the case, Judge Doyet A. Early III told the jury.

It was Chief Public Defender Mark Leiendecker, who initially represented Bonilla, who told deputies the defendant had information about Pegram’s whereabouts, Scott said. He pointed out how after a first attempt to locate Pegram proved unsuccessful, cadaver dogs unearthed her in a wooded area near Brown Town Road in Harleyville on May 9, 2015.

The decomposed body was lying facedown in a shallow grave, nude from the waist down and electrical tape wrapped around her wrists and throat, investigators revealed. Pegram’s glasses were also inside a bag lying near her body.

Murder suspect calls death of Ashley Pegram an 'accident'

Edward Bonilla told a story of alcohol, violence and despair. None of his testimony was captured by television cameras.

The visibly nervous Bonilla said Ashley Nicole Pegram had been drinking. He said he accidentally hit her with his mom's car when she got out to use the restroom. After that, he said she became irate and violent. Bonilla said he had to restrain her and that she died in his arms.

Bonilla said he panicked and left her body on the side of the road but later went back with a van to move the body. Before loading Pegram's body in the van, he said he taped a plastic bag around her head because it was bleeding.

Edward Bonilla told everyone in the courtroom he did not intentionally kill the 28-year-old woman.

"It never entered my mind to harm someone," Bonilla said. "It was an accident, an accident influenced by the way she was acting."

During cross-examination, Bonilla was asked if Pegram's death was her fault. Bonilla said "no."

Jury finds Bonilla guilty of murder in death of Summerville woman, gets life sentence

Edward Bonilla is heading to prison for life after he was found guilty of murder by a 12-member jury in the death of Ashley Pegram in 2015.

Judge Doyet Early III, of Bamberg County, told the court he’s handed down the same sentence to only two other offenders during his career and considered Pegram’s death to be one of the most horrific cases he’s ever heard, calling it “a brutal way to die and even more brutal after her death.”

Early also took time before sentencing Bonilla to remind those present in court to urge friends and family to always take caution when using online dating apps, which is how Bonilla and Pegram first met.

Judge: Killing, disposal of body 'brutal' in message app murder

In an interesting sidebar jurors give the judge a note saying they feared retaliation for their guilty verdict.

The judge promised them protection if they felt they needed it and told anyone who feels intimidated to call the sheriff's office.