Beaufort father arrested for murder of his 3-year-old daughter during custody exchange
Just over two weeks after a custody exchange ended in fatal gunfire at a Beaufort apartment complex, police arrested 27-year-old Jonathan Tyleke Fair for the murder of his 3-year-old daughter.
After turning himself in Monday afternoon, Fair was charged with eight total felonies: murder, two counts of attempted murder, two unlawful weapons possession charges and three counts of felony child neglect. Because the murder charge carries the possibility of a life sentence, Fair’s bond will be set by a Circuit Court judge.
Shots were fired just after 12:30 p.m. on Oct. 1 in the parking lot of Cross Creek Apartments, located off Parris Island Gateway northeast of the Walmart in Beaufort. First responders found a 26-year-old woman with “serious injuries” in the parking lot and loaded her in an ambulance to the hospital.
Beaufort police arrived at Beaufort Memorial Hospital to hear of two more gunshot victims: a 25-year-old male with non-fatal injuries and a fatally injured 3-year-old. The child, Ariana Fair, was pronounced dead at 2:20 p.m., according to Beaufort County Coroner David Ott. An autopsy revealed her cause of death was a gunshot injury, but Ott would not specify the number of times the child was shot.
Two other children were present during the custody exchange and subsequent shooting, leading to Fair’s three counts of felony child neglect, said Deputy Chief Stephenie Price, a spokesperson for the Beaufort Police Department.
Investigators obtained arrest warrants for Fair on Oct. 2, the day after the shooting.
Both surviving gunshot victims were released from the hospital the day after the shooting, Price previously told The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette. Investigators have not yet disclosed how many shots were fired during the incident.
The incident marked the second fatal shooting at the Cross Creek Apartments this year. On Easter Sunday, Daveion Reed, a 21-year-old Beaufort resident, died from a gunshot wound he received during another shooting at the complex. Beaufort police charged 19-year-old Yemassee man Lavent Altobby Frazier in connection with the murder in late July.
This story was originally published October 16, 2023 at 4:58 PM.
