Wilson Justice Xavier Smith, 27, from North Carolina, was convicted in Greenwood County, South Carolina, of murdering 22-year-old Ahkeyra Raysor in December 2022 and sentenced to 40 years in prison. He staged the scene at Burfield Apartments to claim self-defense, placing a shotgun across her body after shooting her in the head, but DNA evidence showed no trace of her on the weapon—only his and others’—and witnesses contradicted his story.
Case Evidence
Investigators immediately doubted Smith’s 911 claim that Raysor shot at him first, as the shotgun’s placement was suspicious and the murder weapon had been removed beforehand. After a two-week trial and 10 hours of deliberation, a jury rejected his fabricated defense, adding a concurrent five-year term for weapon possession during a violent crime. Solicitor David M. Stumbo called it a “calculated and violent act” undone by thorough teamwork.
Victim Background
Raysor, a mother of two pursuing hairdressing school, was remembered as free-spirited, loving to cook and spend time with family. This Greenwood case echoes the area’s recent tragedies, like the hypothermia death nearby, underscoring community safety challenges in cold weather.​
