In Horry County, South Carolina, Meagan Jackson was sentenced to life on June 10, 2025, for killing Gregory Rice—the father of her four children.
After a dramatic trial filled with intense testimonies, including one from her accomplice Christopher Dontell, it took the jury only two hours to reach a verdict.
Let's get into the details
Background of the case
Gregory Vincent Rice, 46, and Meagan Marie Jackson, 35, were in a long-term relationship and seemed happy at first.
But over time, their relationship crumbled, and despite having four children together, it became increasingly unstable with frequent arguments.
According to people who knew them, Jackson often complained about Rice, and she called their relationship “toxic” and “abusive.”
In the months before Rice went missing, things got really bad between him and Jackson.
Text messages presented in court revealed heated exchanges between Jackson and Rice, because of custody and financial issues.
Christopher Allen Dontell, 37, entered the picture in 2018 when he met Jackson through his work as a deputy coroner for the Horry County Coroner’s Office.
At the time, he was married but started having an affair with Jackson, whose relationship was falling apart.
They often met up at Brixx Wood Fired Pizza in Myrtle Beach, and by 2020, their relationship had gotten serious.
That same year, Rice suddenly went missing.
He was last seen on October 2, 2020.
When he didn’t show up to pick up his children or reply to messages, his family reported him missing on October 5.
At first, police treated it as a missing person case and carried out wide searches, even using bloodhounds.
Then one month after his disappearance, on November 8, 2020, Rice’s body was found near the Little Pee Dee River, close to the Horry-Marion county line.
An autopsy showed he had been shot multiple times, and By that time, police had already named Jackson and Dontell as persons of interest.
Dontell later agreed to a plea deal in exchange for testifying against Jackson and revealing the full story of how Rice ended up in the Little Pee Dee River.
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| Gregory Rice |
Christopher Allen Dontell’s Confession: What Happened On the Night of the Murder
On the night of October 2, 2020, Christopher Dontell confessed that he and Meagan Jackson had planned to go out for dinner.
But Instead of dinner, Jackson directed him to stop at the Myrtle Beach Funeral Home, where she worked as a body transporter.
While inside, Dontell observed Jackson speaking on the phone in a back room.
When he asked who she was talking to, she said the caller was Gregory Rice, the father of her four children.
Jackson then told Dontell to drive to Rice’s residence in the Arrowhead community.
As they approached the area, Rice was seen walking along the roadside.
Dontell testified that Jackson ordered him to make a U-turn and pull up alongside Rice.
According to Dontell, Jackson then opened the car door and fired multiple gunshots at Rice, killing him.
Dontell claimed he heard approximately five to seven gunshots.
Immediately after the shooting, Dontell stated that Jackson began screaming at him, repeatedly calling him "stupid" and demanding that he help dispose of Rice’s body.
She insisted they transport the body to Dontell’s workplace to eliminate evidence.
He later bought supplies from Lowe’s, including a tarp, ratchet straps, cinder blocks, and zip ties—items which were used to weigh down and hide Rice’s body in the Little Pee Dee River.
In his confession, Dontell described Jackson as the one in charge, saying she forced him to help cover up the murder.
Police later found receipts from Lowe proving that Dontell had bought the same items used to get rid of Rice’s body.
Additionally, Cell phone records placed both Dontell and Jackson near the crime scene on the night of the murder.
On November 11, 2020, Horry County police arrested Dontell and Jackson, and charged them with murder.
Dontell, who was a deputy coroner with the Horry County Coroner’s Office, had already been suspended on October 23 after police informed him he was under investigation.
He was formally terminated from his position on November 9, 2020.
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| Megan Jackson and Christopher Dontell |
Justice for Gregory Rice: The Legal Proceedings
In late 2024, Christopher Dontell, entered into plea negotiations with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy to commit murder and accessory after the fact to murder.
As part of his plea agreement, murder and accessory to kidnapping charges were dropped.
The state agreed to defer sentencing until after Jackson's trial, with Dontell facing a maximum combined sentence of 20 years.
Megan Jackson's trial began on February 10, 2025, at the Horry County Courthouse.
Dontell testified that Jackson had shot Rice multiple times on October 2, 2020, and then coerced him into helping dispose of the body.
However, the defense challenged Dontell's credibility, emphasizing his changing statements and plea deal motivations.
A key moment in the trial came when Rice’s 19-year-old daughter, Savannah, took the stand and testified against her mother.
Forensic pathologist Dr. Susan Presnell confirmed that Rice died from five gunshot wounds.
The prosecution said Jackson’s motive was tied to ongoing custody fights and her desire to hide the affair, especially since she was reportedly pregnant with Dontell’s child at the time.
During her trial, Meagan chose not to testify.
Before the jury began deliberating on June 10, 2025, they were instructed on South Carolina’s “hand of one is the hand of all” law.
This means that the jury was told that under South Carolina law, if two or more people work together to commit a crime, they can all be held equally responsible—even if only one of them physically carried out the act.
So, since Meagan Jackson and Christopher Dontell planned the murder together, both could be found guilty, even if only one person pulled the trigger.
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