South Carolina Woman Killed in Fake Puppy Sale Ambush

A 40-year-old South Carolina woman was shot to death and her body set on fire inside her vehicle after being lured to a rural road under the pretense of buying a puppy, authorities said. The incident occurred on January 22 in Effingham, a community about 95 miles east of Columbia, and investigators believe it was an act of retaliation linked to a recent homicide in neighboring Darlington County.

Dana Marie Kinlaw of Effingham was driving with 19-year-old Iryanna Jarissa Fleming, described by officials as a friend, when they arrived at Atlantic Road near Springbranch Road, a wooded rural area. According to Florence County Sheriff TJ Joye, the pair had gone there to meet someone selling a puppy that Kinlaw wanted to purchase. Fleming and 31-year-old Daquinn Taheen Thomas are accused of orchestrating the fake sale to draw Kinlaw to the isolated location, where they allegedly ambushed her along with 31-year-old Nikko Christopher Carraway.

Upon arrival, Kinlaw was fatally shot, officials said. The suspects then poured a flammable liquid over her body and ignited it inside the car before fleeing the scene, according to the Florence County Sheriff's Office. Deputies responded to...