Where is Lee Mikeal Cawthon today? Whereabouts explored ahead of new Evil Lives Here episode on ID
In 2018, Lee Mikeal Cawthon was sentenced to 40 years in prison for the murder of his wife Rebecca Murray. He also received an additional sentencing of five years in prison for possessing a weapon during a violent crime. He was scheduled to be released in May 2062.
Lee Mikeal Cawthon, however, died at Lee Correctional Institution in Bishopville, South Carolina in 2021. This was confirmed by the South Carolina Department of Corrections. The state Department of Corrections believes that Lee Mikeal Cawthon's suspected cause of death was suicide. The convict was 45 at the time of his death.
This terrifying case will be covered in detail in the upcoming episode of Evil Lives Here on ID titled Ménage à Terror on April 2, 2023, at 9:00 pm.
The official synopsis of the episode read:
"Genie already knows Lee Cawthon is capable of horrible things when he forces her into a polygamous relationship; she plays along with his twisted demands, but doesn't realize that the consequences of letting him have his way might be worse."Lee Mikeal Cawthon and Rebecca Murray had an open relationship
Lee Mikeal Cawthon was previously married to a woman named Jessica and divorced her in 2002. After ending his first marriage, Lee began dating Rebecca and the duo tied the knot in 2006.
The couple had known each other since Rebecca was just eight. She always wanted to travel the world and looked up to Lee, who was a long-haul trucker. Lee asked her to come along with him on one of his routes and from that point onwards, the couple became inseparable. Rebecca was just 17 when she married Lee.
With the desire to settle down, the couple moved back to South Carolina into Lee’s grandfather’s property two years into their marriage and ran a liquor store business together. Their marriage was not the smoothest and in 2013, the couple decided to have an open relationship.
They met an exotic dancer named Allite Franks through a dating website. Things looked good in the beginning but the situation gradually took a turn. The couple had to close their liquor store business permanently and to make ends meet, Rebecca joined the same place Allite Franks worked as an exotic dancer. Lee then began getting jealous of the attention his wife was getting.
Rebecca and Allite eventually got close and fell in love. Lee was constantly keeping tabs on his wife and became increasingly obsessive. Even though their marriage was in jeopardy, they did not split up. They in fact got into another polyamorous relationship, but this time with a man named Thad Sosebee.
How did Lee Mikeal Cawthon kill his wife?
On April 16, 2017, Lee, Rebecca, and Thad went out for a drink. When Lee and Rebecca returned home, they had an argument which resulted in Lee assaulting his wife. Her wound was deep and she needed six stitches. Even though she did not reveal the cause of her injury to the doctors, she sent her friends a picture of the wound.
She then went to Thad Sosebee’s house. Neither Lee nor Rebecca were seen or heard from the following day. During the investigation into Rebecca's disappearance, Lee turned himself in on May 3, 2017.
Lee Mikeal Cawthon revealed that she came over to collect her things and told him that she wanted a divorce. In a fit of rage, he accidentally fired a bullet that hit her in the stomach. Stating that he did not want to see her suffer anymore, he shot her a couple more times.
He then performed a Greek mythological death ritual on his wife and disposed of her body in a 55-gallon oil drum in the oil pit under the tractor on their property.
To learn more about this terrifying case in detail, watch Evil Lives Here on ID on April 2, 2023, at 9:00 pm.
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