YORK COUNTY, S.C. — Members of a York County jury acquitted a Gastonia man after a double homicide in Fort Mill in 2022, according to our news partners at The Herald in Rock Hill.
Jurors found 46-year-old Paul Eugene Bumgardner not guilty on two counts of murder, burglary, and weapons charges after a woman and her adult son were shot to death in their home.
According to The Herald, jury deliberations began on Thursday and resumed on Friday afternoon.
Bumgardener’s trial began on Tuesday at York County’s Moss Justice Center; officials told The Herald they expect him to be released later on Friday.
Law enforcement originally charged Bumgardener in connection to the deaths of 40-year-old Barry Reynolds and his mother, 71-year-old Betty Reynolds, who were shot and killed in September 2022 in their home on Saddle Ridge Road off Pleasant Road just over the North Carolina state line.
The Herald reports that Bumgardener pleaded not guilty after being charged by York County Sheriff’s Office deputies in October 2022.
His defense lawyer said Bumgardner became emotional after the verdict.
“This is a case where, from the beginning, my client said he didn’t do it,” Nielson told The Herald. “I am proud of him for his resolve.”
Prosecutors alleged that Bumgarnder had used GPS devices to track his wife to the Reynolds Fort Mill home and had DNA evidence.
The Herald reports that his wife and Barry Reynolds had a child together more than 10 years earlier and had restored the relationship before the deaths.
Nielson says just because prosecutors claimed to have Bumgardener’s DNA at the home where the murders happened, it doesn’t prove he was there or is responsible.
The lead prosecutor, John Anthony, told The Herald that he and his fellow counselors believed they had a strong case against the defendant.
“We are very disappointed and puzzled by the jury verdict in this case,” Anthony said.
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