In a shocking incident that has alarmed a tiny South Carolina community and created new concerns regarding foster placement decisions, 13-year-old Darryl Martinez Lowry was attacked by knife and then drowned at a boat dock on Clarks Hill Lake around 3am on Monday morning, July 20, 2026.
The authorities have confirmed that the murder took place at a private residence in Modoc, McCormick County, where all three teenagers the victim as well as the two suspects lived together as foster kids. This has brought national spotlight to this murder incident due to the age of the participants and the location a lakefront home belonging to the McCormick County Council Chairman Bernie Hamby who is a long-standing foster care provider.
According to arrest warrants and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), a physical altercation broke out at the boat dock in the early morning hours. Lowry sustained knife lacerations during the fight. Then, 17-year-old Landen Austin Moore and a 16-year-old juvenile allegedly held the 13-year-old underwater “unlawfully, intentionally, and with malice aforethought” until he drowned.
Lowry’s body was discovered around 7 a.m. at the dock on Beauregard Drive in the Modoc Shores community. SLED took over the investigation at the request of the McCormick County Sheriff’s Office. The death was ruled a homicide.
Moore, whose height is 6’2” and weight is 180 pounds, is facing a charge of murder and is detained in the absence of bail in the McCormick County Detention Center. The sixteen year old juvenile was brought to the juvenile justice system and held in custody of the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice. This case is handled in the Attorney General’s office of South Carolina.
Darryl Martinez Lowry, born on November 18, 2012, in Charlotte, North Carolina, to Laterrica Lowry and Antonio Crosby, was a native of Chester County. He was a recent placement in Hamby’s house pending a permanent placement. He was around 5’2” tall and weighed around 125 pounds.
Hamby, who serves as council chairman and has long advocated for foster care in a county with limited options, was asleep inside the residence at the time and is not suspected of any wrongdoing. He has been a licensed foster parent for years and was at one point reportedly one of the few in McCormick County.
This case has once again drawn public attention to the issue of placing children in foster care. The question of putting together groups of unrelated children of different ages in one home and the accompanying risks is controversial. Although South Carolina, like other states, suffers from a chronic shortage of foster homes for children, some of them turn out to be quite tricky.
According to national statistics, foster children, who were previously traumatized, may present a potential danger to each other. At the same time, however, it is necessary to be careful not to generalize the situation based on this single case. Each state has its own methods and strategies for placing kids in foster care, as well as assessing potential threats and monitoring situations in real time. Moreover, the reasons for the brawl in this home, as well as the extent of control and observation, are still unknown. Therefore, the motives of the accused girl may be completely different from those that were presented in the court during the trial.
Meanwhile, SLED is investigating the case, and many details, including forensic evidence, will undoubtedly emerge in the coming days. It is not yet clear whether the prosecution managed to present sufficient evidence for conviction or whether the defense managed to somehow nullify key facts in the courtroom.
Lowry’s family is mourning. His obituary notes viewing at his great-aunt’s home in Chester, with funeral arrangements pending.
As this case moves through the justice system, residents and child welfare advocates will be watching closely for answers on how three foster teens ended up in this deadly confrontation on a county official’s property. The investigation is active, and more information could emerge in the coming weeks.
