A South Carolina man who local authorities say kept four vulnerable adults captive in a basement and stole thousands of dollars from some of them is now facing additional charges, including murder.

Donnie Ray Birchfield Jr., 35, was charged on Friday, Oct. 17, in connection with the death of Shirley Arnsdorff, 49, the Lancaster Police Department announced in a news release. In addition to murder, he is also being charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct, according to police.

Arnsdorff died on July 24, and her death was reported the following day, police said. Her death triggered further investigation, leading to Birchfield eventually being charged in August with a litany of offenses, including false imprisonment, aggravated domestic violence, financial fraud and abuse of a vulnerable adult, according to the department.

Lancaster police arrested Birchfield on Aug. 1. As of Oct. 17, he is being held without bond at the Lancaster County Detention Center, according to online court records and the police department.

“My client maintains his innocence in this case and it is important to remember that he is presumed innocent of these allegations,” Ryan Payne, Birchfield's defense attorney, wrote in an email to USA TODAY on Sept. 25. “We look forward to litigating this case in the court system where facts, evidence, and the rule of law matter. We will have no further comment at this time.”

When contacted on Friday, Oct. 17, Payne referred USA TODAY to the emailed statement from Sept. 25.

What happened on the day Arnsdorff's death was reported?

The 911 call leading to the charges against Birchfield occurred on July 25, Lancaster police said on Oct. 17. Someone called police around 11:45 a.m. to a home in Lancaster, about 66 miles north of Columbia, about an “unattended death.”

Once officers arrived, they discovered Arnsdorff lying on the floor unresponsive, police said, adding that she was pronounced dead at the scene. Soon after her death, investigators found evidence that a crime had occurred.

Birchfield was initially charged on Aug. 1 with two counts of neglect of a vulnerable adult and two counts of false imprisonment. His charges were upped on Aug. 6 to include two counts of domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature and two additional counts of false imprisonment. His charges were upgraded a third (Aug. 25) and fourth (Sept. 3) time to include four counts of exploitation of a vulnerable adult and various financial and identity fraud offenses, bringing his total to 16 charges at the time.

Birchfield dated two of his alleged victims, court docs say

Birchfield’s alleged crimes date back to May 2021, according to court documents obtained by USA TODAY. Altogether, the victims included a woman Birchfield was dating between November 2015 and July 2025, a woman he was dating between September 2024 and July 2025, a man he was the sole caregiver of, and that man's wife, Arnsdorff, who died, the legal documents continued.

Following the woman’s death, authorities discovered that Birchfield was the sole caretaker for multiple people considered "vulnerable adults” in the home, per the court documents.

The court filings for the case do not specify the ages or health conditions of the other victims; however, South Carolina law defines a "vulnerable adult" as a person aged 18 and up who has a physical or mental condition that prevents them from caring for or protecting themselves.

According to police, Birchfield held the four victims in the home’s basement against their will. He is also accused of stealing at least $12,881 from one victim and making at least 32 payments or purchases using the person's money, according to a criminal incident report.

Birchfield is accused of assaulting the two female victims, whom he was dating, and controlling when they could use the restroom, per the court documents. He also threatened one of the women and said he would kill her, hurt her family and “knows how to get rid of a body from past experience," according to the legal filing.

Lancaster police call case 'heartbreaking'

Lancaster Police Chief Don Roper said during a news conference on Oct. 17 that this case is “heartbreaking.”

“The Lancaster Police Department is dedicated to achieving justice for the victim and her family,” Roper said. “We extend our sincerest condolences to the victim's family and hope that we can bring them some peace through justice. We encourage anyone with further information to come forward and assist us in this ongoing investigation.”

An investigation is still underway involving Lancaster police, the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office, the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Unit and the Lancaster County Coroner’s Office.

Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Murder charge added for man accused of keeping 4 vulnerable adults in basement

Reporting by Saleen Martin, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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