SC jury finds NC man not guilty after double-murder trial from 2022 Fort Mill killings

Andrew Dys
·2 min read

A York County jury acquitted a North Carolina man after a woman and her adult son were shot to death in Fort Mill in 2022, officials said.

The jury found Paul Eugene Bumgardner, 46, of Gastonia, N.C., not guilty on two counts of murder, burglary, and weapons charges after deliberating Thursday and again through Friday afternoon, said Angie Bryant, York County clerk of court. The trial began Tuesday at the Moss Justice Center in York.

Bumgardner should be released from custody later Friday, Bryant said.

He originally was charged in connection with the deaths of Barry Reynolds, 40, and Betty Reynolds, 71, who were shot to death in September 2022 inside their Saddle Ridge Road home off Pleasant Road, south of the North Carolina state line. Bumgardner pleaded not guilty after York County Sheriff’s Office deputies charged him in October 2022

Paul Bumgardner listens in court as attorney’s question his ex-wife Tonia Dellinger during an earlier part of the double-murder trial. Bumgardner was found not guilty of all charges.
Paul Bumgardner listens in court as attorney’s question his ex-wife Tonia Dellinger during an earlier part of the double-murder trial. Bumgardner was found not guilty of all charges.

York County Senior Public Defender Devon R. Nielson, Bumgardner’s defense lawyer, said after court his client was emotional after the verdict. Bumgardner looks forward to going home to hug his mother, Nielson said.

“This is a case where from the beginning, my client said he didn’t do it,” Nielson said. “I am proud of him for his resolve.”

Prosecutors from the 16th Circuit Solicitor’s Office said during the trial Bumgardner had tracked his wife to the Reynolds home in Fort Mill and had DNA evidence. Barry Reynolds and Bumgardner’s wife had a child together more than a decade earlier and resurrected the relationship before the deaths, trial testimony showed.

Although prosecutors alleged they had DNA on items from the home where the killings happened, Nielson said that did not prove Bumgardner was there or committed any crime.

“GPS trackers and DNA do not equal guilt,” Nielson said afterward, echoing his opening statement earlier in the trial.

Nielson thanked the jury for their dedication in deliberations.

Lead prosecutor John Anthony, 16th Circuit deputy solicitor, said after the trial prosecutors believed they had a strong case.

“We are very disappointed and puzzled by the jury verdict in this case,” Anthony said.