Trial date postponed for former Horry County deputy coroner accused of murder

HORRY COUNTY, SC (WMBF) – The scheduled trial of a former medical examiner accused of murder in Horry County is postponed.

According to the 15th District Attorney’s Office, a judge has postponed Chris Dontell’s trial due to scheduling issues. The trial was originally scheduled to begin on June 24. A new date has not yet been set.

Dontell and Meagan Jackson are accused of killing Gregory Rice in 2020. It is unclear whether the two will be tried separately or together in the case.

Jackson is the mother of Rice’s four children. Investigators believe Dontell and Jackson began a relationship when Jackson was working as a subcontractor for the Horry County Coroner’s Office.

Rice was first reported missing in October 2020, and after weeks of searching, Rice’s body was found about a month later along the Little Pee Dee River near Pitts Landing on Highway 378 on the Horry-Marion County line.

Jackson had been released from prison since March 2022 after posting bail. A judge ordered her to remain under house arrest and banned her from having any negative contact with police.

However, documents show that Jackson was arrested and returned to jail in February for violating the terms of her house arrest. Online records show that she has been placed under house arrest again since her arrest.

Meanwhile, Dontell remains in prison for violating the conditions of his bail.

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