A man has been charged with murder after a woman was found dead in a Churchill Drive home
A South Carolina man has been charged with murder after a woman was found dead in a Churchill Drive home in Lancaster, South Carolina.
The suspect, 35-year-old Donnie Ray Birchfield, Jr., is accused of killing 49-year-old Shirley Arnsdorff after police responded to a death report and found Arnsdoff lying unresponsive on the floor in Birchfield’s home on July 25, 2025.
Police allege Birchfield physically abused Arnsdorff and her husband — described in warrants as vulnerable adults for whom he was the sole caregiver — and denied them food, medical treatment and freedom of movement. He also gained access to the couple’s finances and used their money to make online purchases and payments on his personal credit cards, warrants state.
In addition to confining the couple, Birchfield also imprisoned and brutalized two female romantic partners, according to police.
The women, one who’d been involved with him for nearly a decade and the other for less than a year, were held captive in Birchfield’s basement and only permitted to leave with his permission and in his presence, warrants state.
Birchfield subjected the women to severe and persistent physical abuse, routinely choking them to the point of unconsciousness or near-unconsciousness, police allege. One of the women told police that during the assaults Birchfield would threaten to kill her and harm her family, and claimed he knew from past experience how to dispose of a body, according to an arrest warrant.
Police allege Birchfield also exerted extraordinary control over the women’s lives, dictating when they ate, when they used the bathroom and with whom they communicated. He often texted the women’s friends and family on their behalf and physically prevented them from calling anybody for help, warrants state.
Following an investigation, Lancaster Police Department arrested Birchfield on August 1. Birchfield was initially charged with two counts of neglect of a vulnerable adult and two counts of false imprisonment.
Over the past two months, Lancaster police have added to Birchfield’s list of charges connected to this case totaling 18 charges:
- One count of murder
- One count criminal sexual conduct
- One county financial identity fraud
- Two counts of abuse of a vulnerable adult
- Two counts of domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature
- Four counts of false imprisonment
- Four counts of exploitation of a vulnerable adult
- Two counts of financial card theft
- One county financial card fraud
“This is a heartbreaking case that has profoundly impacted our community,” Lancaster police Chief Don Roper said. “The Lancaster Police Department is dedicated to achieving justice for the victim and her family. We extend our sincerest condolences to the victim’s family and hope that we can bring them some peace through justice. We encourage anyone with further information to come forward and assist us in this ongoing investigation.”
Birchfield is being held on a $150,000 bond.
This case is currently under investigation by the Lancaster Police Department with the assistance of the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office, Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Unit and Lancaster County Coroner’s Office.
Anyone with information regarding this incident, or any related investigations to reach out to the Lancaster Police Department at (803) 283-3313.
