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The South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) announced a man incarcerated in the Oconee County Detention Center had been charged in connection with the death of another inmate.
Jordan Scott Tilson, 26, of Wahalla, S.C., was charged with one count of voluntary manslaughter in the March 29, 2024 death of 24-year-old Michael McMahan. According to a probable cause affidavit accompanying the warrant for his arrest, Tilson allegedly struck McMahan with a closed fist on the side of his head causing him to fall and strike his head on a steel hand rail.
According to the affidavit, Tilson acted “in the sudden heat of passion and without malice.” In other words, investigators do not believe the death of McMahan was a murder because they could not establish Tilson acted with “malice aforethought.”
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According to Fox Carolina reporter Amanda Shaw, deputies with the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) responded to the scene after McMahan was found unresponsive in his cell at 5:31 a.m. EDT on March 29, 2024. He was pronounced dead approximately fifty minutes later after resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful. The coroner’s report concluded McMahan died as a result of “a blunt-force head injury consistent with being assaulted by someone.”
Tilson remains incarcerated at the detention center. His case will be prosecuted by the office of S.C. tenth circuit solicitor David R. Wagner.
As with anyone accused of committing any crime, Tilson is considered innocent until proven guilty by our criminal justice system – or until such time as he may wish to enter some form of allocution in connection with a plea agreement with prosecutors related to any of the charges filed against him.
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THE RELEASE …
(SLED)
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
As a private investigator turned journalist, Jenn Wood brings a unique skill set to FITSNews as its research director. Known for her meticulous sourcing and victim-centered approach, she helps shape the newsroom’s most complex investigative stories while producing the FITSFiles and Cheer Incorporated podcasts. Jenn lives in South Carolina with her family, where her work continues to spotlight truth, accountability, and justice.
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