A South Carolina woman who believed she was meeting to buy a puppy was shot and her body set on fire inside a vehicle on Jan. 22, authorities said, in a killing that has led to three arrests and an ongoing homicide investigation in Florence County.
Deputies identified the victim as Dana Marie Kinlaw, 40, of Olanta. The case gained urgency for investigators after firefighters found a burning vehicle and discovered Kinlaw’s remains inside. Within days, two suspects were in custody and charged with murder, first-degree arson and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. A third suspect was arrested later in the week. Florence County Sheriff T.J. Joye has said detectives are examining whether retaliation tied to a separate, earlier homicide may have played a role, while stressing that the primary focus remains on evidence from the Jan. 22 attack and who planned it.
Deputies said Kinlaw traveled to Effingham that evening for what she believed was a private pet sale arranged through a person she knew. Investigators allege she was instead met by assailants who shot her and torched the vehicle to destroy evidence. “We believe she thought she was going to look at a puppy,” Joye said, adding that investigators reconstructed movements through interviews, phone records and video from nearby locations. The sheriff’s office said the initial 911 calls reported a vehicle fire; when crews extinguished the flames, they found a body and alerted homicide detectives, who secured the scene and called the coroner.
Authorities arrested Iryanna Jarissa Fleming, 19, and Daquinn Taheen Thomas, 31, within a day of the killing. Both were booked into the Florence County Detention Center on counts of murder, first-degree arson and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. On Jan. 29, deputies announced the arrest of a third suspect, Nikko Christopher Carraway, 31, on the same set of charges. Officials said all three remain jailed while bond hearings are scheduled. Detectives have not publicly described a weapon caliber, how many rounds were fired or the accelerant used. The sheriff’s office requested patience as forensic testing proceeds and as autopsy results are finalized by the county coroner.
Joye said detectives are reviewing whether the ambush was connected to an earlier killing in the region and whether people close to the victim were targeted. The possible link involves a prior homicide investigated by a neighboring agency; no charging documents released so far describe a formal conspiracy count in that earlier case. Investigators have also been tracing communications used to set up the meeting, seeking records for social media, messaging apps and phone calls in the days before Jan. 22. The office did not release the exact location coordinates of the scene beyond Effingham, a rural community in Florence County where farm roads and small subdivisions meet long stretches of two-lane corridors.
Florence County’s homicide caseload has fluctuated in recent years, but deputies say the circumstances here stand out. The alleged setup mimics online “private sale” meetups that typically occur in parking lots or roadside pull-offs. While many South Carolina agencies maintain safe-exchange zones on government property, officials did not say whether any guidance reached those involved in this case or whether a public location was proposed and declined. Effingham sits south of Florence, near industrial plants and open fields, and volunteer fire companies often handle first response for vehicle fires that later become crime scenes when a victim is found inside.
In court filings and jail records, the three defendants are listed with local addresses in Florence County or nearby communities. Thomas and Carraway, both 31, have prior encounters with law enforcement, according to deputies’ summaries, though officials did not release a comprehensive history. Fleming, 19, was described as someone the victim knew socially. The sheriff’s office has not announced additional suspects but left open the possibility of further arrests if communications or forensic evidence point to others. Officials have not released a detailed list of items recovered at the scene, citing the active investigation.
Detectives said the next steps include final autopsy findings, ballistics analysis, and review of any digital location data from devices tied to the suspects and Kinlaw. Prosecutors will decide whether to seek indictments from a Florence County grand jury. Bond hearings for the defendants are expected to be scheduled in the coming days in county court; murder and first-degree arson are among South Carolina’s most serious offenses. If indictments are returned, arraignments would follow, and attorneys could request gag orders or protective orders to control the release of investigative material before trial.
At the scene the day after the fire, the vehicle’s outline was still visible on scorched ground near a tree line, with plastic evidence markers clustered along the shoulder where investigators photographed shell casings and charred debris, residents said. A neighbor who asked to be identified only by her first name, Angela, said she watched emergency lights from her porch. “We saw the glow and then all the sirens,” she said. “It shook everybody.” In Olanta, family friends described Kinlaw as a devoted mother who loved animals and kept a tidy home. A small memorial of flowers and candles formed near a rural store where acquaintances gathered to trade information and offer condolences.
As of Friday, deputies said the investigation remains active and that they will release further details as lab results and interviews come back. The sheriff’s office has not announced funeral arrangements or a public vigil. The next milestone is expected to be a court update on bond hearings and a coroner’s report identifying the official cause and manner of death.
Author note: Last updated January 30, 2026.