A woman in South Carolina will spend the rest of her life in jail after killing her father and half-brother in a plot to get her hands on a $1 million inheritance.
As reported by Local 12 News, Fifteenth Circuit Court Judge Benjamin Culbertson ordered 39-year-old Samantha Ford Rabon to two terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole plus an additional 30 years. She will serve them consecutively, meaning one after the other. Her charges stem from the 2018 slayings of 59-year-old Robert Marion Ford Jr. and his 25-year-old son Robbie Stetson Ford.
A jury found Rabon guilty on two counts each of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and solicitation to commit murder. She got a life sentence for each of the murder charges, 10 years for each solicitation charge, and then five years for each conspiracy charge.
In 2023, Rabon's co-defendant, 56-year-old Randy Dean Grainger, was convicted on two counts of murder, two counts of criminal conspiracy, one count of arson third-degree, and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. Grainger was also sentenced to two consecutive life terms.
It was a Cold Case for Years Before DNA from Cigarette Butt, Skull Cap Linked Grainger, Rabon to Murders
According to a news release, the incident happened in August of 2018. The Horry County Police Department responded to a call regarding an abandoned and partially burned vehicle in an open field. Once police found out that the car belonged to Robert Ford Jr., they went to his home for a follow up.
That's when police found Robert Ford Jr. and Robbie Stetson Ford in the backyard with fatal gunshot wounds. They were declared dead on the scene. Police said that the elder Ford had been shot twice in the head. His son had been shot once in the side and once in the back of the head. Police then said that it took years of investigating before any leads were developed in the case.
"DNA developed from cigarette butts and a skull cap located in and around the vehicle eventually led the police to Randy Grainger. That led to a link between Grainger and Teresa Martin, a cousin of Rabon," authorities said, according to WPDE.
Martin Told Police Rabon Told Grainger to Kill Her Father, Half-Brother So She Could Inherit Her Father's Money
"Martin was questioned by police on the second anniversary of the killings. She told police that Rabon asked her to bring Grainger to see her and asked Grainger if he would kill her father and half-brother so that she could inherit all of her father's money."
Teresa Martin then struck a deal with prosecutors. She went on to testify against both Grainger and Rabon. During the trials, multiple people from financial institutions testified that the amount Rabon inherited after the murders totaled more than $1 million.
Additionally, evidence was presented that included her online search history. In it, she made a search that said, "Can you clean up a double homicide in four hours."
