Man ‘held four adults captive in his basement including a woman found dead’

A man allegedly held at least four people captive in his basement, abused them, stole their money, and left a woman to die.

Donnie Ray Birchfield Jr, 35, is accused of imprisoning two women he was in relationships with, as well as a couple that he acted as a sole caregiver for, inside his home in Lancaster, South Carolina.

Officers went to Birchfield’s home on Churchill Drive on July 25 after receiving a report of an ‘unintended death’, according to the Lancaster Police Department.

Investigators found a woman’s body and determined that she had died the day before, stated police warrants obtained by The Post and Courier. She appeared to have suffered physical abuse, malnourishment and seemed to have needed medical treatment. Birchfield was caregiver for the woman who died and her husband