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MCCORMICK, S.C. (BFMG) — The family of a 13-year-old boy found dead at a South Carolina boat dock has hired an attorney to conduct an independent investigation, as a 17-year-old faces murder charges in connection with the death.
Daryl Lowry died Monday at a boat dock in Modoc, in McCormick County, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, or SLED.
A warrant .pdf states that Landen Austin Moore, 17, an unnamed 16-year-old and Lowry got into an altercation at the dock on July 20, during which Lowry suffered lacerations from a knife. The warrant says Moore and the 16-year-old “did unlawfully, intentionally, and with malice aforethought, either expressed or implied, murdered Daryl Lowry by holding him underwater until he became deceased”
Moore was booked into the McCormick County Detention Center, while the 16-year-old was taken to the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice, according to SLED. The case is being prosecuted by the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office, and SLED said the investigation remains active and ongoing.
Sheriff’s Office Thanks Investigators
The McCormick County Sheriff’s Office, in a statement posted to Facebook, thanked SLED, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, McCormick County Emergency Services, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the McCormick County Coroner’s Office for their work on the case.
“We also want to express our deepest condolences to the friends/family of the young man who had his life taken in such a horrendous manner,” the sheriff’s office said, adding that violent crime is not common in the community but that officials “must remain diligent” in keeping McCormick County safe.
Family Hires Attorney
Lowry’s family has retained attorney Tyler Bailey to conduct an independent investigation into the boy’s death, separate from the criminal investigation and prosecution.
In a statement Thursday, Bailey said Lowry was 13 and in the custody of the state of South Carolina, having recently been placed in a foster home. He said the family’s questions center on how the placement was made, what was known about the home and other children living there, and who was responsible for supervising Lowry overnight.
“When the state removes a child from his family and takes him into its care, it accepts a duty to keep that child alive. We intend to find out whether that duty was met,” Bailey said.
Bailey said the family is planning Lowry’s funeral and has asked for privacy, and that his firm will provide updates when more information becomes available.
“Daryl and his family deserved so much better than what happened on that dock. We intend to get his family the answers they deserve,” Bailey said.
