Man pleads guilty to murder of Beaufort Co. woman found beaten and bound, officials say
A 27-year-old man pleaded guilty Tuesday to the murder of his disabled neighbor, Teresa Seigler, who was found wrapped in blankets and bound with duct tape by firefighters who responded to a fire at her house in December 2016, a 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office release says.
John Dontue Priester, of Burton, was sentenced to 30 years for murder and 20 years for second-degree arson by Circuit Judge Carmen Mullen. The sentences are to be served concurrently.
“Despite numerous health problems that caused her nearly constant pain, Teresa had a kind heart and was known for helping people down on their luck — people like John Priester and the other defendants,” 14th Circuit Associate Solicitor Hunter Swanson, who prosecuted the case, said in the release.
Priester is the third person to be convicted in the case. Brian Walls, 38, was convicted in April 2019 and sentenced to 40 years in prison. Courtney Brock, 25, received a 30-year-sentence after being convicted in October.
The murder
“John Priester, Brian Walls and Courtney Brock would have done anything to keep their drug bender going,” Hunter said. “This includes robbing and killing a woman who had never been anything but kind and helpful to them.”
All three of the defendants lived in a mobile home two houses from Siegler, the release says. Witnesses in previous trials described frequent drug use in the home occupied by the three.
Seigler often gave her neighbors food and allowed them to shower in her home when their utilities were disconnected.
She lived alone and had health problems, sometimes using a scooter to get around. She was killed days after she received a monthly disability check and used some of the money to fill her prescriptions.
Shortly before the fire, a witness saw Priester walking toward Seigler’s home and carrying a red gasoline can, similar to one arson investigators found just outside Seigler’s bedroom door.
Priester’s fingerprint also was found on a portion of duct tape used to bind Seigler’s body, the release says.
When firefighters responded to the fire at her Falls Road house, Seigler’s body was found covered in gasoline.
The fire was immediately deemed suspicious, but it took months for the public to learn details about the suspects and other violent acts connected to the murder.
Experts said Seigler’s body sustained blunt force trauma to the head, as well as a broken rib and multiple contusions and bruising.
Walls’ DNA and Brock’s palm print were also found on the duct tape binding Seigler’s body. The two were arrested in a stolen vehicle in Marlboro County near the North Carolina border.
Seigler’s prescription pill bottles, her debit card and a roll of duct tape were found in the car.
Priester’s DNA was found on the debit card.
Seigler’s daughter, Hannah, said at Brock’s trial that her mother was not vindictive.
“If she was here right now, she would want to say she forgave them,” she said. “I don’t hate them. They have to answer to God. They have to turn their lives around and change for God.”
Drug binge
Swanson previously said during Brock’s trial that Brock and Walls were on a days-long drug binge that included multiple crimes.
The night before the fire, police say, Wells raped Daryan Payne, then 19, at the Howard Johnson hotel in Beaufort. Payne has previously told her story to the Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette and agreed to be identified.
Wells is also charged with kidnapping and forcing her to withdraw money from an ATM before stealing her car.
Brock testified that Payne had picked them up that night and then disappeared. Brock recalled Wells saying Payne was allowing him to use the car.
Wells drove the car the following day to Charleston, back to Beaufort and then to Chesterfield, where police arrested Brock on misdemeanor drug charges.
The rape and related charges against Wells are pending.