Former Deputy Coroner in South Carolina Accused of Murdering Man Found Dead Near River

A former deputy coroner in South Carolina has answered a wrongful death lawsuit over two and a half years after he allegedly conspired to kill a man, officials said.

Christopher Dontell, who once worked for the Horry County Coroner’s Office, is accused with co-defendant Meagan Jackson of the 2020 murder of the father of her four children, Gregory Rice, WBTW reported.

Rice went missing that October and his body was found at the beginning of the following month near a river in Conway.

An answer to the wrongful death complaint filed against Dontell and Jackson on behalf of Rice’s family and obtained by WMBF states, “Defendant Dontell alleges, upon information and belief, that any injuries or damages alleged in Plaintiff’s Complaint, were caused by someone other than Defendant Dontell and, therefore, he is not liable to Plaintiff.”

The defendant’s lawyers requested the suit be dismissed.

Dontell is being held without bail at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center.