Oscar Ernest Lance, 35, and his younger brother, 21-year-old Jacob Lance, pleaded guilty to charges of manslaughter, arson and burglary connected to the November 2015 death of Todd Cantlay near Pendleton.
Before the fatal beating, Cantlay had called and texted Jacob Lance about Cantlay's son paying too much for drugs and being "shorted," according to a statement from the solicitor's office.
Cantlay's son, who was in his late teens at the time, had apparently bought marijuana from one of the Lance brothers, according to 2015 testimony from Nathan Mitchell, an investigator at the Anderson County Sheriff's Office.
Cantlay was killed in his century-old farm house a few miles east of Pendleton. Before being purchased by Cantlay, the McAlister House was briefly used as a wedding venue.
After Cantlay died of the blows he suffered during the beating, the Lance brothers burned his body and then stole guitars, an Xbox, a television and a rifle from Cantlay's home before driving off in his car. The brothers attempted to burn the vehicle before deputies found it in a field in Starr, according to investigators.
Items taken from Cantlay's home were found in Jacob Lance's vehicle and in Oscar Lance's home, according to the solicitor's office.
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26 авг 2023
