Suspects in Burton arson-homicide have criminal past

Two men charged with murder Monday in connection with the December death of a Burton woman found in a burning home have histories with the law, court records show.

Courtney Brock, 22, John Priester, 25, and Brian Walls, 35, all of Northern Beaufort County, are suspected in the Dec. 7 slaying of Teresa “Resa” Seigler, 56, who died following a fire at her home on 126 Falls Road in Bon Aire Estates.

Priester and — particularly — Walls both have lengthy criminal records.

Walls currently faces charges of rape, use of a car without permission and kidnapping in connection with an incident reported the night before the fire that killed Seigler. Walls, of Burton, allegedly sexually assaulted a 19-year-old woman at the Howard Johnson hotel in Beaufort, forced her to withdraw money from an ATM and stole her car, according to a Beaufort Police Department crime report.

Walls has also been convicted of at least a dozen misdemeanors and one felony since 1999, court records show.

In addition, at least eight previous felony charges related to drugs, sexual assault and aggravated assault against him were never prosecuted in Beaufort County, according to a South Carolina Law Enforcement Division background check.

In July 2011, for example, Walls was charged with felony criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature. He later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, a second-offense criminal domestic violence charge within 10 years. He was given credit for 90 days spent in jail and was released, court records show.

In October 2011, Walls was accused of repeatedly raping and assaulting a female acquaintance who was driving him around the area, the Sheriff’s Office told The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette at the time of his arrest.

He was charged with two felony counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and one count of kidnapping. Walls later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in the case, one count of second-degree assault and battery, and was again given credit for 90 days spent in jail and released, court records show.

Both the felony criminal sexual conduct charges and the kidnapping charge were never prosecuted.

Last year, in March, Walls was arrested on two counts of statutory rape with a minor younger than 16 years old and a charge of violating his probation. Again Walls was never prosecuted on the felony charges, which were dismissed in July.

The second man charged in Siegler’s death, Priester, is described by the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office as a homeless man from the Burton area.

Priester pleaded guilty to one felony burglary charge in 2007 and two additional felonies in 2013: possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute and unlawful possession of a weapon.

For the 2013 charges, Priester was sentenced to five years in prison, though court records did not disclose how much time Priester actually served of that sentence.

Priester also was convicted of felony weapons charges in September 2015 and October 2016, court records show.

The third suspect in the case, Brock, had only one previous charge filed against her before the murder charge. She pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor drug charge in Chesterfield County two days after the fire that killed Seigler, court records show.

The 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office was not available to answer questions Tuesday for this story.

This story was originally published February 28, 2017 at 6:06 PM with the headline "Suspects in Burton arson-homicide have criminal past."