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a man from south carolina He was accused of holding four vulnerable adults hostage in his basement – including one at least 10 years older – has been charged with murder after one of them was found dead.
Donnie Birchfield Jr., 36, has been charged with the murder of Shirley Arensdorf, 49, who was one of four people allegedly held against her will in his basement.
Police responded to a call on July 25 that a woman had died at a home on Churchill Drive in the city of Lancaster, about 50 miles south of Charlotte, North Carolina.
The police have not disclosed how he died.
At the scene, police found Arensdorf’s body, along with that of three other adults, allegedly in the basement. Police said one of them had been held hostage for at least 10 years.
Birchfield is also accused of stealing victims’ debit cards to make purchases for herself.
Arensdorf’s sister-in-law, who will be identified only by her first name, said wbtv Her brother, Arensdorf’s husband, was also taken prisoner and has been missing since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Ultimately I’m glad he’s being charged with more or whatever… but I’m just ready for this to be over,” Teresa told the outlet.
“I can’t really put it into words. Anyone living around Lancaster needs to be aware of their surroundings, know who your friends are or supposedly are your friends,” Teresa said.
Lancaster Police Chief Don Roper called the case “heartbreaking” during a news conference last week.
“The Lancaster Police Department is dedicated to bringing justice to the victim and her family,” Roper said. “We express our deepest condolences to the victim’s family and hope we can bring them some peace through justice. We encourage anyone with more information to come forward and assist us in this ongoing investigation.”
Birchfield is accused of keeping a vulnerable married couple and two women with whom he was in a romantic relationship locked in a basement.
Each victim was reportedly held against their will and deprived of food, water, medicine and access to the outside world. According to the report, Burchfield also controlled when the victims ate and used the bathroom. wbtv,
he allegedly According to authorities, both women were in a “romantic/intimate relationship”, one for a year and the other for about 10 years.
Records obtained by WBTV show that a woman allegedly said Burchfield told her he was “going to kill her…” and that he “knows how to get rid of a body from past experience.”
Over the course of three years, beginning in September 2022, police said, Burchfield made dozens of purchases for himself using debit card and bank account numbers linked to the victims — even paying off his credit card debt with their money.
Birchfield’s attorney, M. Ryan Payne, told WBTV that his office is investigating.
“My client maintains his innocence in the case and it is important to remember that he is presumed innocent of these charges. We look forward to prosecuting this case in a court system where facts, evidence and the rule of law matter. We will not be making any further comment at this time,” Payne said.
Birchfield was arrested on August 2 and faces several other charges in addition to the murder charge. they include:
- Four counts of exploitation of a vulnerable adult.
- four cases of false imprisonment
- The two cases of domestic violence are of high and serious nature
- Two counts of abuse of a vulnerable adult.
- Two cases of financial transaction card theft
- one count of transaction card fraud
- A case of financial identity fraud