GEORGETOWN, S.C. — A man who raped and murdered a Litchfield woman in 2007 had his life spared by pleading guilty to the crimes rather than standing trial.
But Shane Lawshe, a 36 year old Andrews resident, will never live anywhere except prison for the rest of his life.
He was sentenced to life without parole as he stood before Circuit Court Judge Ben Culbertson Thursday and admitted to raping and killing 63-year-old Julianne Blakeley inside her home.
Lawshe was facing the possibility of the death penalty if he stood trial.
With very little emotion Lawshe said “yes sir” six times when Judge Ben Culbertson asked him, one at a time, if he was guilty of the six charges: murder, criminal sexual conduct, arson and burglary and two violent burglary charges.
The only other thing Lawshe had to say was “I’m sorry” when given a chance to speak by the judge.
Blakeley was well-known throughout the county for being the first South Carolinian to give birth to quadruplets.
One of her daughters, Olivia Charney, looked at Lawshe and said “you killed my mother” as she tearfully addressed the court. “I hope you see my mother’s face every day. No court could give you the justice you deserve. Our community is better with you gone.”
A change of heart
In December, 2008, Solicitor Greg Hembree was asked by the Georgetown Times if he would drop the death penalty in exchange for a guilty plea in this case.
“We have not extended that offer and have no plans to extend that offer,” he said in 2008.
On Thursday, Hembree told the court the plea was a negotiated deal offered to Lawshe. After the hearing he was asked why his decision changed.
“Lawshe changed his plea, that was one thing. The second reason was there was an element of financial consideration made. Our budget situation has me having to look at things a little differently. It’s that serious. That went into part of the decision,” Hembree said. “I discussed it with the family and they were at a point they wanted to bring it to an end and felt life without parole was adequate.”
Horrific crime
On the morning of Sept. 26, 2007, Midway Fire and Rescue was dispatched to a fire at Blakeley’s home at 244 Norris Drive.
Firefighters extinguished the blazes that had been set in various parts of the three-story home by Lawshe before he fled the scene.
Hembree said the house would have probably burned down but Lawshe did not provide ventilation for the fires, although the house did suffer serious damage.
After the fires were out, Blakeley was found dead in an upstairs bed.
Although she did have some burns on her legs and arms, Coroner Kenny Johnson ruled she had died before the fires were set of blunt force trauma.
She had also been stabbed in the neck and head, authorities said.
Incriminating evidence, including Lawshe’s sperm and blood, were found inside Blakeley’s house.
Lawshe was on the run for exactly a week before he was captured.
Investigators say he was desperate for cash, so he broke into the Shell Rapid Lube on North Gate Road in Myrtle Beach while hiding out.
He also pleaded guilty of breakins at the Sherwin-Williams paint store and Murrells Inlet Veterinary Clinic on U.S. 17 Bypass which occurred before Blakeley was killed.
Lawshe’s luck ran out on Oct. 3, 2007.
As he sat in traffic at an open swing bridge in Little River, a motorist behind him recognized his car and license tag from the news reports he had seen and called 911. Lawshe was arrested at that location and was transported to the Georgetown County Detention Center.
When asked Thursday if the timeline of events described by Hembree really happened, Lawshe simply said “yes, sir.”
Lawshe’s attorney, Tommy Brittain, said Lawshe was “uncommonly high” when the crimes occurred.
At a press conference to announce his arrest, Katie Thornton — one of the quadruplets — said her mother trusted Lawshe because she had hired his uncle’s company to paint her house.
A lawsuit was filed by Clay Thornton against Edwin Cox, the owner of the company, claiming he should also be held accountable for his mother’s death.
Thornton, in the lawsuit, maintains Cox hired Lawshe to work for him "when he knew or should have known that he had an extensive criminal past including violent crimes, and that he was in violation of probation at the time he was working for Cox."
The suit said Cox "had every reason to anticipate that an employee with a history of criminal activity and violent crime might well commit another violent crime even if the crime was not identical to the employee's previous offenses."
After the suit was filed, Cox told the Georgetown Times if he had thought Lawshe was a violent person he would have never hired him to do any work for his company.
“I would never have let anyone in [Blakeley’s] house who would hurt anyone,” Cox said.
According to the Solicitor’s Office Web site, the case has been moved from Georgetown County to Williamsburg County.
By Scott Harper
sharper@gtowntimes.com