A South Carolina man already in prison on charges of holding numerous people imprisoned in his basement for years is now facing even more legal trouble, officials disclosed this week.
As previously reported by Law&Crime, Donnie Ray Birchfield, Jr., 35, was charged with 16 offenses relating to the alleged underground imprisonment of four individuals this summer.
As of Friday, the defendant was facing 18 accusations.
According to the Lancaster Police Department, Birchfield is currently charged with one count of murder, criminal sexual conduct, financial identity fraud, financial card fraud, two counts of financial card theft, abuse of a vulnerable adult, and high and aggravated domestic violence, as well as four counts of false imprisonment and exploitation of a vulnerable adult.
According to authorities, the murder charge stems from the death of Shirley Arnsdorff, 49. On July 25, responding officers allegedly discovered the woman dead on the floor of the defendant’s home on Churchill Drive in Lancaster, a small town located a few miles south of the border with North Carolina.
“This is a heartbreaking case that has profoundly impacted our community,” Police Chief Don Roper said in a statement. “The Lancaster Police Department is committed to ensuring justice for the victim and her family. We send our heartfelt sympathies to the victim’s family and hope that justice will provide them some comfort. “We encourage anyone with additional information to come forward and assist us in this ongoing investigation.”
According to warrants acquired by The Post and Courier, police first went to the house in response to an alleged “unattended death.”
On August 1, Birchfield was arrested on negligence and wrongful imprisonment charges. More charges were added to warrants issued in late September, police stated as the case progressed.
The deceased woman was married, according to police. The defendant was alleged to be the sole caretaker for her and her husband. According to the warrants, authorities don’t know how Birchfield knew the couple.
Birchfield is also accused of denying the husband access to food and medical supplies, according to police.
“That’s a sick individual right there,” one of the defendant’s neighbors told WSOC, an ABC and Telemundo affiliate in Charlotte, North Carolina. “He’s a sick person to do something like that.”
The two additional victims were women with whom the defendant was romantically involved, according to court filings. According to investigators, one woman has been with Birchfield since September 2024, while the other has lived in the property since 2015.
Birchfield is claimed to have had control over the victims’ movements, only allowing them to leave the basement when he saw fit. According to police, this level of control extended to the victims’ eating and restroom habits.
According to authorities, the defendant took control of each victim’s cell phone in order to prevent them from contacting for help. According to police, at least one of Birchfield’s alleged “romantic” companions was regularly strangled. Authorities said that these repeated punishments made her fear for her life.
According to the warrants, the defendant’s alleged comment regarding prior experience disposing of a human body heightened the woman’s apparent dread.
Birchfield also committed several financial crimes against the couple under his care, according to police. This scam entailed years of using the couple’s credit and debit cards to pay for at least $2,000 in online Walmart transactions beginning in 2021. At least 32 such purchases were made “solely for the listed suspect’s use and not for the victim,” according to a local police report acquired by the Post & Courier.
This year, however, it appears that spending has increased significantly.
According to authorities, Birchfield allegedly took more than $11,800 from the couple’s bank account to pay off his personal obligations during the eight months preceding his arrest in 2025. Additional charges may potentially be filed.
Birchfield is being held without bond at the Lancaster County Detention Center, according to the police department.
