A North Carolina man will spend decades in prison after a South Carolina jury found him guilty of murder, rejecting his claim of self-defense in the fatal shooting of a woman. This verdict was announced by the authorities in South Carolina.

The convicted individual, Wilson Justice Xavier Smith, 27, was sentenced to 40 years in prison following his conviction for the murder of 22-year-old Ahkeyra Raysor. The Greenwood County jury also found him guilty of possessing a weapon during the commission of the crime, as stated by the Eighth Judicial Circuit Solicitor’s Office in a press release.

The incident occurred in December 2022 at the Burfield Apartments located on Cambridge Avenue East in Greenwood. Smith had called 911, claiming he shot Raysor in self-defense.

According to prosecutors, when law enforcement arrived, they discovered Raysor on a bed with a gunshot wound to the head, and a shotgun was found placed across her body.

Despite the immediate efforts of paramedics, Raysor was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. The tragic event has led to a significant prison sentence for Smith, marking the end of the trial.

Smith told detectives Raysor fired the shotgun at him first and he shot in self-defense. But officers “immediately suspected” something was fishy about his claims. Cops found the DNA of Smith and others on the shotgun — but not Raysor’s. Other witnesses refuted Smith’s claims, prosecutors stated.

The press release did not detail the relationship between Smith and Raysor, nor did it divulge a potential motive for the murder. Jurors deliberated for about 10 hours before convicting Smith after a two-week trial.

“This was a calculated and violent act, followed by a deliberate attempt to deceive law enforcement and escape responsibility,” Solicitor David M. Stumbo said in a statement. “Because of a total team effort — from investigators and prosecutors to victim advocates and administrative staff — the truth prevailed, and a violent killer has been held accountable.”

Raysor left behind two children and had enrolled in hairdressing school before her death, according to her obituary.

“She had a profound love for cooking for others. She was a free-spirited individual and loved family time,” the obituary said.