The Halloween Murder of T.J. Darrisaw

T.J. Darrisaw attended a Halloween block party with his family in their Sumter, South Carolina community in 2008. The festivities included face painting, candy, and lots of entertainment. After leaving the block party, T.J. and his brother weren’t quite ready to call it a night and asked if they could stop at a few more houses to trick-or-treat. Of course, the parents agreed: it was Halloween and everyone loves this spooky day of the year.

Trick-or-Treat

The family spotted a porch light turned on, the traditional symbol indicating a household has candy to hand out to trick-or-treaters. The family stopped, the kids hopeful of a couple of handfuls of yummy miniature candy bars or maybe even bubble gum! The family got out of the car, and knocked on the door of the home occupied by 22-year-old Quentin Patrick.

The Darrisaw family didn’t know the home was that of a drug -dealing gang member with an extensive criminal history. He, along with his 19-year-old girlfriend and her kids, was inside the house.

Patrick Opens Fire

Mom stayed behind in the car while T.J. and his brother, stepfather, and another relative walked to the door with their buckets in their hands and masks covering their faces. Excitedly, the children yelled “Trick or Treat!”

When Patrick’s girlfriend peeked out the door to see who was knocking, she saw a ghost face mask. This scared her and she screamed. This scared Patrick, who then jumped up, grabbed his AK-47 assault rifle, leaned against the door and, aiming toward the window, unloaded the clip, and within seconds, shooting at least 29 bullets outside the home. T.J. was struck 12 times, one of the bullets striking him in the head. He died at the scene. His brother and stepfather each sustained two bullet wounds while the third child relative walked away unscathed.

I Thought I Was Getting Robbed

Patrick, his girlfriend, and the kids hopped into his Dodge Charger and fled the scene. Paramedics arrived at the home at 215 S Wise Drive. Detective Ridgeway was the first to arrive on the scene. He found T.J.’s mother kneeling over his lifeless body. Seconds later, Patrick pulls up in his Charger, yelling toward Detective Ridgeway, “I thought I was being robbed.”

Police detained Patrick and took him into custody. The girlfriend was located at a neighbor’s house and taken to police headquarters for questioning.

Drug Dealer, Gang Member

Patrick told detectives that he had been robbed and shot before and when he saw TJ standing at his door in a mask, he thought it was a grown man because he did not understand “why a 12-year-old is trick-or-treating.”

Patrick had a lengthy criminal history prior to the incident with convictions for assault, weapons, and drugs. He was a drug dealer and a gang member.

Patrick was charged with murder, two counts of Assault and Battery with Intent to Kill, and gun and drug charges. His girlfriend was charged with Obstruction of Justice for trying to cover up the crime by leaving the scene with evidence.

Conviction & Sentencing

Patrick was sentenced to 30-years in prison on the murder conviction and 16-years in federal prison on the weapons conviction. A judge denied his appeal request for a new trial. Information concerning Patrick’s girlfriend is unavailable.

Resources & Additional Information:

https://www.wltx.com/article/news/local/12-year-old-killed-trick-or-treating-honored-10-years-later/101-608790084

https://www.denverpost.com/2008/11/01/ex-con-held-in-trick-or-treaters-death/

Thanks for reading this story and as always, your continued support. Please visit the main page by clicking here to check out some of the other true crime stories available.