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Murder of Kandee Martin

SOLVED2001Dorchester County, South Carolina, United States3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026

Documents violence — written to inform, not to shock.

Illustrative

On February 17, 2001, the burnt body of 21-year-old Kandee Louise Martin was discovered inside the trunk of her burned car in Dorchester County, South Carolina. According to court sources, the previous evening, 20-year-old Marion Bowman Jr., a longtime resident of Branchville, South Carolina, encountered Martin, whom he knew from high school, and asked her to repay money he said she owed him. When Martin told him to wait until she finished a conversation, Bowman reportedly said she would "be dead by dark." That evening, Martin drove to a house where Bowman and his friends had been drinking. Bowman and his cousin, James Tywan Gadson, got into her car and directed her to a remote location. According to Gadson's testimony, Bowman shot Martin multiple times after she pleaded for her life, citing a child she needed to care for, and then dragged her body into nearby woods. Bowman later enlisted another acquaintance, Travis Felder, to help return the car to the site, where Bowman put Martin's body in the trunk and set the car on fire.

In June 2001, a grand jury indicted Bowman on one count of murder and one count of third-degree arson. His trial began on May 17, 2002, in St. George, Dorchester County, with the prosecution led by First Circuit Solicitor Walter Bailey and the defense conducted by Norbert Cummings Jr. and Marva Hardee-Thomas. The defense challenged the credibility of Gadson's testimony, given his plea deal, and suggested the gun used as evidence might have been planted. On May 24, 2002, after three hours of deliberation, the jury found Bowman guilty on both counts. The same jury unanimously recommended a death sentence for the murder charge; Bowman also received a ten-year sentence for arson. Co-participants Travis Felder and James Gadson received lesser sentences under plea agreements: three years' probation for accessory after the fact for Felder, and 20 years' imprisonment for misprision of felony and accessory after the fact for Gadson.

Bowman's appeals were repeatedly denied, including by the South Carolina Supreme Court in 2005 and 2018, a federal district judge in 2020, and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2022. He also participated in broader death-row litigation, including an ACLU-backed lawsuit over media access restrictions (dismissed in September 2024) and a joint challenge to South Carolina's use of the electric chair and firing squad, which the state's Supreme Court upheld on July 31, 2024.

Bowman was scheduled for execution as part of a series of six executions ordered in 2024. After a temporary reprieve tied to the winter holidays, the South Carolina Supreme Court signed his death warrant on January 3, 2025, setting his execution for January 31, 2025. Bowman selected lethal injection. In final appeals, he maintained his innocence, alleged prosecutorial misconduct and racial bias in his trial, and raised concerns about pentobarbital's effects, citing complications reported in a co-defendant's autopsy. His final appeal was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court on January 30, 2025, and he declined to seek clemency. Marion Bowman Jr. was executed by lethal injection at Broad River Correctional Institution on January 31, 2025, and pronounced dead at 6:27 p.m. Martin's family stated they believed justice had been served.

Key facts

Victims
Kandee Louise Martin
Date
2001
Location
Dorchester County, South Carolina, United States
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 1979-10-02

    Kandee Louise Martin is born.

  2. 2001-02-16

    Marion Bowman Jr. shoots and kills Kandee Martin in Dorchester County, South Carolina, then sets fire to her car with her body inside.

  3. 2001-02-17

    Martin's burnt body is discovered inside the trunk of her burned car.

  4. 2001-06

    A grand jury indicts Bowman on charges of murder and third-degree arson.

  5. 2002-05-17

    Bowman's trial begins in St. George, Dorchester County, South Carolina.

  6. 2002-05-24

    Bowman is found guilty of murder and arson; the jury recommends the death penalty and he is also sentenced to ten years for arson.

  7. 2005-11-28

    The South Carolina Supreme Court dismisses Bowman's direct appeal.

  8. 2018-01-10

    The South Carolina Supreme Court dismisses another of Bowman's appeals.

  9. 2020-03-26

    A U.S. District Judge upholds Bowman's conviction and sentence, rejecting his ineffective-counsel claims.

  10. 2022-08-16

    The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals rejects Bowman's appeal against the death penalty.

  11. 2024-07-31

    The South Carolina Supreme Court upholds the constitutionality of the electric chair and firing squad in a case Bowman joined.

  12. 2024-08-28

    A court order sets a schedule for six executions over the following year, including Bowman.

  13. 2024-09-05

    A federal judge dismisses an ACLU-backed lawsuit over media access to death row inmates, including Bowman.

  14. 2024-11-14

    The South Carolina Supreme Court grants condemned inmates, including Bowman, a temporary reprieve from new death warrants until January 3, 2025.

  15. 2024-12-17

    Bowman appeals to vacate his conviction, alleging prosecutorial misconduct.

  16. 2025-01-03

    The South Carolina Supreme Court signs Bowman's death warrant, setting his execution for January 31, 2025.

  17. 2025-01-17

    Bowman chooses lethal injection as his execution method; his appeal over trial fairness is denied.

  18. 2025-01-28

    A federal judge dismisses Bowman's appeal seeking more information about the lethal injection drug.

  19. 2025-01-30

    The U.S. Supreme Court rejects Bowman's final appeal; he declines to seek clemency.

  20. 2025-01-31

    Marion Bowman Jr. is executed by lethal injection at Broad River Correctional Institution and pronounced dead at 6:27 p.m.

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People

  • James Tywan Gadson

    CONVICTED

    Bowman's cousin, present at the murder; pleaded guilty to misprision of felony and accessory after the fact of murder, sentenced to 20 years.

    citation on file

  • Kandee Louise Martin

    VICTIM

    21-year-old victim shot to death and burned inside her car's trunk in Dorchester County, South Carolina, on February 16, 2001.

    citation on file

  • Travis Felder

    CONVICTED

    Assisted Bowman in returning Martin's car to the murder scene; pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact of murder, sentenced to three years' probation.

    citation on file

  • Marion Bowman Jr.

    CONVICTED

    Convicted in 2002 of murder and third-degree arson for killing Kandee Martin; sentenced to death and executed by lethal injection on January 31, 2025.

    citation on file

Places

Dorchester County, South Carolina, United States

33.0257, -80.4573

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
On February 16, 2001, 21-year-old Kandee Louise Martin was shot to death in Dorchester County, South Carolina, by a high school acquaintance who then hid her body in the trunk of her car and set the vehicle on fire. Marion Bowman Jr. was convicted of murder and arson in 2002 and sentenced to death; he was executed by lethal injection on January 31, 2025.
Where did the murder happen?
Dorchester County, South Carolina, United States.
Who was convicted?
James Tywan Gadson (Bowman's cousin, present at the murder; pleaded guilty to misprision of felony and accessory after the fact of murder, sentenced to 20 years.), Travis Felder (Assisted Bowman in returning Martin's car to the murder scene; pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact of murder, sentenced to three years' probation.), and Marion Bowman Jr. (Convicted in 2002 of murder and third-degree arson for killing Kandee Martin; sentenced to death and executed by lethal injection on January 31, 2025.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved.

Sources

  1. Murder of Kandee Martinwikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-07
  2. Contemporaneous coverage — Associated Pressnews · Associated Press · 2026-07-07
  3. Contemporaneous coverage — The Guardiannews · The Guardian · 2026-07-07
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