In a heartbreaking incident, a 25-year-old man, Trevor Raekwon Seward, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of 64-year-old mail carrier Irene Pressley in rural Williamsburg County, South Carolina. This tragic event unfolded in September 2019 and stemmed from a dispute over a package containing marijuana.
Seward was expecting a two-pound package of marijuana from California. However, instead of the package, he found a note in his mailbox instructing him to pick it up from the local post office. Angered by this, he confronted Pressley, demanding his package. When she refused, Seward's actions escalated dramatically.
Armed with a semi-automatic rifle, Seward ambushed Pressley as she drove along her mail route. He fired approximately 20 rounds into the back of her mail truck, fatally wounding her. Following the shooting, Seward drove the mail truck into a ditch at a hunting club's access road. He then searched the vehicle for the marijuana and any other valuables, leaving Pressley's body behind. The marijuana package was later discovered on the street where the shooting occurred.
During the sentencing hearing, Pressley's sister, Elisha Hubbard, addressed the court, holding Seward responsible not only for her sister's death but also for the subsequent passing of their 97-year-old father. Hubbard shared that their father had lost his will to live after his daughter's tragic death, and he deeply missed the daily treats Irene would bring him. Seward listened attentively to the family's statements but chose not to speak when given the opportunity, stating he didn't want to cause further distress.
This booking photo provided by Williamsburg County Sheriff's Office shows Trevor Raekwon Seward. (Williamsburg County Sheriff's Office via AP)
Seward's accomplice, Jerome Terrell Davis, 31, who assisted in searching for the marijuana, received a 25-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to robbery and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana. It's a tragic irony that the value of the marijuana at the center of this devastating incident was relatively low. At the time of the crime, it would have been worth approximately $1,600 in Colorado, where marijuana is legal. Even during periods of nationwide prohibition, the package's value wouldn't have exceeded $2,600, based on historical drug price data.
