SPARTANBURG COUNTY, SC (WSPA) – A man was sentenced to 35 years in prison after pleading guilty to murder Monday afternoon at the Cherokee County Courthouse.
According to a solicitor’s office news release, Charles Bridges, 20, was sentenced after pleading guilty to stabbing his mother’s boyfriend to death in 2017.
The guilty plea happened the day the case was set for trial.
According to the release, Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office deputies found the body of Gary James Stone, 51, during a search of the victim’s home on Harris Trail on Nov. 9.
Stone’s body was found under the house, where it had been dismembered and stored in several containers.
Bridges was detained at the scene and admitted to choking and stabbing Stone in one of his statements during his questioning.
He told deputies that he visited his mom, Dawn Michelle Wilkins, 45, because he was concerned about his mother’s safety following recent incidents involving Stone.
Bridges and Stone reportedly started fighting on Nov. 3, 2017 after Bridges arrived at his mother’s property.
Wilkins reportedly admitted to helping her son in the case and pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact of a felony, desecration of a body and conspiracy to kidnap prior to the start of Bridges’ trial.
According to the release, she is detained in the Cherokee County Detention Center, where she’s awaiting her sentencing.
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