Boy, 13, in SC DSS Custody Killed Days After Placement in Council Chairman’s Foster Home

Modoc, S.C. — A 13-year-old boy in the custody of the South Carolina Department of Social Services was stabbed and held underwater until he drowned at a lake dock on July 20, days after he was placed in the McCormick County home of County Council Chairman Bernie Hamby, according to investigators and the boy’s family. Two older teenagers staying in the same foster home have been charged.

What happened

The boy’s body was found around 7 a.m. on Monday, July 20, at a residential boat dock in Modoc Shores on Clarks Hill Lake, also known as J. Strom Thurmond Lake, WIS reported. Authorities say the boy was in a physical fight at the dock in the early morning hours, suffered knife wounds and was then held underwater until he drowned, the Augusta Press reported.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division charged a 17-year-old with murder. He remained jailed after being denied bond as of late August, WRDW reported. A 16-year-old was also arrested and taken to the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice. WRDW reported that SLED believes both teens were also staying with the foster family that owned the dock. FAN is not naming the teenagers.

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The McCormick County Sheriff’s Office cited a conflict of interest and asked SLED to lead the investigation. The South Carolina Attorney General’s Office will prosecute the case.

The placement

The boy, who was from Chester County, was placed in temporary DSS custody by July 16, according to family attorney Tyler Bailey. The Augusta Press reported that he had recently been placed in Hamby’s home as a temporary foster child while he awaited another placement. WIS reported that he was supposed to leave on the Monday he died for a temporary emergency foster placement.

Hamby, 72, is a longtime member and chairman of the McCormick County Council. He has said he has fostered boys for 13 years, and the Augusta Press reported he was believed to be the county’s only licensed foster parent. He was asleep in the house when the boy was killed, according to the Augusta Press, and authorities have not suggested he did anything wrong. After the death, Hamby asked the state to revoke his foster care license, WIS reported.

Where the system failed

The family has hired Bailey to run an independent civil investigation, separate from the criminal case. Bailey has said the family wants to know how the placement was made, what the state knew about the home and the other children living there, and who was responsible for supervising the boy overnight and where that person was when he died.

There’s no reason that children should be left unsupervised, no reason by a lake unsupervised.

Tyler Bailey, family attorney, to WBTV

Bailey has said the boy and other foster children in the home were not supervised, including at night and near the lake. In a July 23 statement reported by FITSNews, he said that when the state takes custody of a child, it accepts a duty to keep that child alive, and that his firm intends to find out whether that duty was met.

None of the news reports reviewed by FAN included a public statement from DSS about the placement. A month after the death, relatives told WRDW they still wanted to know why the boy had been placed in a home more than an hour from his family. They had planned to address the county council and Hamby at an August meeting, but the meeting was canceled.

What’s next

SLED has said its investigation remains active, and the murder case against the 17-year-old is pending. FAN found no public report of a trial date or of a DSS review of the placement as of Nov. 4.

When the state removes a child from home, it takes on the full responsibility of a parent. Here, a 13-year-old was moved into a home more than an hour from his family and was dead within days, and the agency that placed him has not publicly explained how that decision was made. FAN tracks these failures in its record of foster care system problems.

Key facts

• A 13-year-old in South Carolina DSS custody died July 20, 2026, at a lake dock in Modoc, McCormick County.
• He had been placed in the foster home of McCormick County Council Chairman Bernie Hamby days earlier, after entering temporary DSS custody by July 16, according to his family’s attorney.
• Investigators say he was cut with a knife and held underwater until he drowned.
• A 17-year-old is charged as an adult with murder; a 16-year-old is also charged. Both were staying with the same foster family, WRDW reported.
• Hamby was asleep at the time; authorities have not suggested he did anything wrong. He asked the state to revoke his foster license.
• The family’s attorney says the children were unsupervised at the lake and is investigating how the placement was made.

Sources

• The Augusta Press — Two foster teens charged after 13-year-old boy stabbed, drowned at McCormick County Council chairman’s lake home (2026-07-22)
• FITSNews — Boat dock drowning: Independent investigation launched into death of 13-year-old (2026-07-23)
• WIS — McCormick County official’s ‘heart is shattered’ over foster child’s murder (2026-07-24)
• WBTV — Chester County family demands accountability after 13-year-old dies in foster care (2026-07-31)
• WRDW — Family of teen killed at Lake Thurmond seeks answers one month later (2026-08-20)

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