A 24-year-old white South Carolina man was sentenced to 60 years in prison after being found guilty of murder in the ambush-style shooting of his Black ex-girlfriend in 2021.
Justin Cole Carroll was sent away by Judge Robert Bonds after a Colleton County jury convicted him for killing Donasia Alexus Holloway more than three years ago in the parking lot of her residence in Walterboro, about a 50-mile drive west of Charleston.
The sentence, handed down on April 24, marked the conclusion to a tragic tale of domestic violence that unfolded over several years, culminating in the senseless murder of Holloway and the subsequent trial that brought Carroll to justice.
Prosecutors said Carroll became enraged when Holloway broke up with him after only several months together because of his abusiveness.
“Donasia tried to end this toxic relationship, and she tried to protect herself from her ex-boyfriend’s jealous rage,” said prosecutor Hunter Swanson of the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, who brought the case. “But Justin Carroll refused to take no for an answer. He ignored a no-contact order, stalked her and killed her.”
Holloway ended the relationship with Carroll in January 2021 after Carroll was arrested for beating her up, leading to charges of domestic assault.
Five months later, on May 22, 2021, Carroll was out on bail when he showed up again at the Forest Point Apartment complex, where the woman lived, and lay in wait until Holloway returned home.
After pulling into the parking lot around 10 p.m., Holloway immediately noticed Carroll’s truck, prompting her to lock her doors and park next to a Walterboro Police cruiser owned by a neighbor in the complex.
However, this minor defensive step failed to stop Carroll, who was now on foot and walking toward Holloway’s silver Lexus.
Not knowing what to expect, Holloway made a split decision to begin recording herself live on Snapchat, which would later reveal Carroll approaching from behind.
“Followed me to my apt and I saw him behind me & locked myself in the car,” Holloway posted to Snapchat during the final minutes of her life, according to reports. “I have asked him multiple times to leave me alone, trying not to be fed but this has to stop!!”
Carroll’s presence at the complex also put him in violation of a court order to stay away from Holloway, who was now alone in his sight, appealing to social media instead of calling police for help.
By the time authorities arrived, it was too late.
The police officer whose cruiser Holloway had parked beside rushed outside and discovered the woman shot to death in her front seat.
Holloway was shot four times with a .40-caliber Smith & Wesson, with fatal wounds to her head and neck.
The shooter fired through the car windows, which couldn’t protect Holloway.
Carroll sped away from the scene, but police caught up with him within hours of the shooting.
The same night, Carroll’s truck was spotted at a traffic light, where police pulled him over and tested his hands for gunshot residue.
Due to the domestic abuse case, Carroll immediately became the primary suspect in the murder, and police were soon questioning him about the shooting, but Carroll denied any involvement and then ended the interview by asking for a lawyer.
At the time, police lacked the murder weapon and any other physical evidence to hold Carroll, and he was released from custody, although he was not dismissed as a suspect.
Two days later, investigators discovered the chilling social media video recorded by Holloway, with Carroll shown clearly in the background.
Carroll was also captured on apartment complex security surveillance, approaching the woman’s car.
Several witnesses told police they saw a man running to his pickup and peeling off moments after they heard the gun blasts, prosecutors said.
Notably, Carroll had a head full of hair in the surveillance video, but when he was pulled over hours later, his entire head and face were clean-shaven.
The footage, along with evidence of gunshot residue on Carroll’s hands and his attempt to erase his phone and change his appearance, ultimately led to his arrest.
The video that Holloway posted to Snapchat played a crucial role in Carroll’s conviction.
It remains unclear if Holloway was ever aware of Carroll’s troubled past.
Four years before he met Holloway, Carroll was found guilty of first-degree assault and battery in 2016 and sentenced to eight years probation. However, Carroll had his probation revoked following arrests for unlawful carry of a pistol and possession of a controlled substance.
He served three years in prison before he was released in 2020, and he began dating Holloway.
Holloway’s mother said she received no solace from Carroll’s conviction, which could never make up for the loss of her daughter.
“There needs to be harsher punishment for people that do this. They need to stay in jail, stay in prison because they are only hurting other families,” Shameka Holloway told WCSC. “If he would have stayed in jail, our daughter would have been here today.”
She said her family was devastated over Holloway’s murder, while she criticized the U.S. justice system for not protecting the public against dangerous ex-convicts like Carroll.
“It’s just so sad, [to] know how the system works. It’s awful, they need to do better,” Shameka Holloway told the station. “We have a life sentence of heartache and pain that we will carry for the rest of our lives.”
