{"id":619,"date":"2026-05-28T10:07:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T10:07:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=619"},"modified":"2026-05-28T10:07:01","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T10:07:01","slug":"his-life-was-worth-less-than-4-bottles-of-water-sc-murder-trial-gets-underway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=619","title":{"rendered":"His \u2018life was worth less than 4 bottles of water:\u2019 SC murder trial gets underway"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><\/p>\n<p><i><b>Editor&#8217;s Note: <\/b>A panel of 12 jurors began hearing evidence they\u2019ll later ponder in determining the fate of a former convenience store owner accused of gunning down a 14-year-old boy three years ago.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=617\">Columbia may sell USC-leased lots near Colonial Life Arena. What comes next?<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Following a day filled with vetting and selecting jurors, a trial \u2014 The State of South Carolina vs. Rick Chow \u2014 began with opening statements Wednesday morning amid a packed courtroom inside the Richland County Courthouse.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Escorted in by the bailiff and quietly seated, the jury panel \u2014 mixed with young and middle-aged men and women of various races \u2014 first directed their attention to Circuit Court Judge Heath Taylor who advised the jurors about their role in the proceeding while also explaining their parameters.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The group then turned to 5th Circuit Solicitor Byron Gipson as he began telling a story a little after 10 a.m.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat is the value of human life?\u201d Gipson asked jurors. \u201cRick Chow, the defendant in this case, determined that Cyrus Carmack-Belton\u2019s life was worth less than four bottles of water.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>In May 2023, Chow was charged with murder after he and his son, Andy Chow, chased Carmack-Belton from a Shell gas station, located at 7441 Parklane Road, after falsely suspecting the 14-year-old had stolen water from the store.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>At issue in the case is whether Chow acted in self-defense or the defense of his son when he used a .45 caliber Glock handgun to fire a single shot into the back of Carmack-Belton, fatally wounding him.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Last November, Chow was denied immunity in the teen\u2019s death, under South Carolina\u2019s Stand Your Ground Law, where Circuit Court Judge Scott Sprouse ruled the store owner was not acting in self-defense when he pursued and shot the teen.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Still, a group of powerhouse defense lawyers for Chow \u2014 including Jack Swerling, Shaun Kent and Joe McCulloch \u2014 maintain their client was in fear of the life of his son when he fired the fatal shot.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI do not believe that you will hear during the course of this trial why a 14-year-old was illegally carrying a fully loaded semi-automatic pistol, with one in the chamber and equipped with a laser,\u201d Swerling told jurors during his opening remarks.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat was a 14-year-old doing walking around Columbia with a semi-automatic 9mm weapon with a bullet in the chamber &#8230; illegally walking into a store that bars people from coming in with weapons?,\u201d Swerling asked jurors.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=614\">Takeaways from SC attorney general debate: gotchas, barbs and even information<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The state\u2019s first witness was former Richland County Sheriff\u2019s Deputy Derrick English, who was the first on scene of the shooting and the first to interview Chow and Andy. English testified, during both Chow\u2019s immunity hearing and trial on Wednesday that at no time did Chow nor Andy advise that Carmack-Belton pointed a gun at Andy prior to Chow firing.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>In fact, evidence presented last November and Wednesday, showed Chow never saw a gun in Carmack-Belton\u2019s hand but, rather, was only alerted to the weapon by his son, Andy.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Besides English, jurors heard from several other witnesses, including Lori Ann Carson who told jurors that she witnessed Chow and Andy chasing Carmack-Belton as she was pulling into the gas station\u2019s parking lot to grab a beverage.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe looked frightened and scared,\u201d she said. \u201cJust like a child who was in trouble,\u201d adding that she didn\u2019t see anything in teen\u2019s hands as he was running away.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Fighting to hold back tears, Carson said she was concerned by the chase and felt guilty after seeing Carmack-Belton laying on his back, \u201cgurgling\u201d for air.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t know CPR, so I couldn\u2019t help him, and that bothers me to this day,\u201d the grandmother of eight told jurors. \u201cAll I could do was remove the leaves from his mouth and just stay with him,\u201d she tearfully recounted.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<h2>What\u2019s expected in the coming days<\/h2>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>With both sides planning to call a series of witnesses, including experts, the trial could easily bleed into next week.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s unclear whether Chow, who remained silent during his November immunity hearing, will testify in his defense.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Besides Gipson, the state is represented by senior assistant solicitor Dale Scott, and assistant solicitors Stephanie Taylor and Weston Liefer.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=612\">Ken Paxton calls for party unity. Some Republicans aren\u2019t on board<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>If convicted, Rick Chow faces a minimum of 30 years in prison.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A panel of jurors began hearing evidence after opening statements in the murder trial of Rick Chow who, in 2023, was accused of killing Cyrus Carmack-Belton.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":618,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>His \u2018life was worth less than 4 bottles of water:\u2019 SC murder trial gets underway - US Moving Experts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=619\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"His \u2018life was worth less than 4 bottles of water:\u2019 SC murder trial gets underway - 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