Ryan Lenard Manigo South Carolina dad charged with murdering six people including his 11-year-old daughter & 7 year old girl, Shamiah Rutledge in a house fire, as cops revealed the sole survivor is a 13-year-old girl who identified the suspect.
South Carolina police have charged a father with murdering six people who perished in a house blaze along with attempted murder after trying to stab to death the sole survivor of the blaze – a 13 year old girl who identified the suspect.
Authorities found the deceased victims and the critically injured teen girl at a home in Green Pond around 11 a.m., the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
The survivor was airlifted to a hospital from Green Pond, about 42 miles west of Charleston.
Female victims were stabbed to death prior to house fire
Ryan Lenard Manigo, 33, was charged with attempted murder and come Monday afternoon with the murder of the six occupants killed in the blaze he is alleged to have started over the weekend.
Two of the deceased were identified as Michelle Marie Wright, 50, Mangino’s sister-in-law, and Sariya Mangino, the suspect’s 11 year old daughter, the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) announced during a Monday afternoon press conference.
Officials stated both females were stabbed to death before the fire.
Of note, a woman named Kelisha Arnold identified herself in a newly-created GoFundMe as the aunt of one of the victims, specifically a 7-year-old named Shamiah Rutledge.
‘Hello, my name is Kelisha and I am setting up this fundraiser on behalf of my sister, Michelle Buncombe and her Fiancé, Dante Rutledge who lost their daughter this morning in a tragic homicide by fire. Shamiah Rutledge was one of the six victims that lost their lives. She was only 7 years old at the time of her passing and was the sweetest funniest soul anyone could meet,’ the GoFundMe set up on Sunday read.
No known motive
Firefighters from Colleton County Fire-Rescue were alerted to a blaze and when they arrived the house was engulfed in flames. Once inside, they made the gruesome discovery of the six people deceased in the burning building.
Arson investigators from the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division are assisting with the case, the sheriff’s office said, WCIV reported.
Hiram Davis, a spokesperson for the family of the victims said the motive for the killings remains unclear.
During Monday’s a press conference, 14th Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone said: ‘The two murder charges carry potential life sentences, those must be set by a circuit court judge,’ NBC News reported.
The sheriff’s office is asking anyone with information to call 843-549-2211.
